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A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 


4 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY 
OF   POLAND- 


BY 


JULIA  SWIFT  ORVIS 

Associate  Professor  of  History  in 
WelUsley  College 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1916 


COPYRIGHT,   I916,  BY  JULIA  SWIFT  ORVIS 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


!   '  •!  *     I  Published  November  iqid 


PREFACE 

This  is  not  the  book  of  an  investigator.  It 
is  simply  an  attempt  to  present  the  results  of 
much  work  already  done  by  others  on  a  diffi- 
cult and  complicated  subject,  in  such  a  way  as 
to  reach  and  interest  the  many  to  whom  Po- 
land's great  past,  as  well  as  her  present  prob- 
lems and  their  wide  significance,  are  practi- 
cally unknown. 

It  is  impossible  to  mention  all  the  many  au- 
thorities whose  work  has  contributed  to  the 
preparation  of  this  book,  but  I  must  gratefully 
acknowledge  my  special  debt  to  Ropell  and 
Carols  Geschichte  PolenSy  still  the  best  general 
history  of  Poland  for  the  period  it  covers;  to 
the  books  and  articles  of  Mr.  R.  Nisbet  Bain 
on  many  Slavonic  subjects;  and  to  Mr.  Robert 
Howard  Lord,  without  whose  authoritative  and 
illuminating  work,  The  Second  Partition  oj  Po- 
land, much  of  this  book  could  scarcely  have 
been  written. 

Julia  Swift  Orvis 


CONTENTS 

Introduction ^.     ix 

I.  Origin  and  Early  History:  the  Era  of  Begin- 
nings, 962-1386     I 

II.  The  Jagiellon  Kings:  the  Era  of  Greatness, 

1386-1572 50 

III.  The  Elective  Monarchy:  the  Era  of  Decline, 

1572-1763 98 

IV.  Polish  Society  in  the  Eighteenth  Century    .  167 
V.  The  Last  King  of  Poland:  the  Era  of  Parti- 
tion, I 763-1 795 

1.  The  First  Partition 187 

2.  The  National  Revival  and  the  Second  Par- 

tition     203 

3.  The  Revolution  of  1794  and  the  Third  Par- 

tition     231 

VI.  The  Grand  Duchy  of  Warsaw       .      ,      .      .  239 

VII.  The  "Congress  Kingdom"  and  the  Revolution 

OF  1830 247 

VIII.  The  Revolution  of  1863 262 

IX.  Poland  since   1863 

1.  Prussian  Poland 284 

2.  Russian  Poland 292 

3.  Austrian  Poland 307 

X.  The  Poles  and  the  War 317 

Genealogical  Table:  the  Jagiellon  Kings  of 
Poland  333 

Bibliography 335 

Index 337 


n  AOO>^-i 


LIST  OF  MAPS 

Poland  and  Lithuania  before  the  Union  of  Lublin 

1563 50 

Poland:  The  Partitions  of  1772,  1793,  and  1795  .  202 
The  Grand  Duchy  of  Warsaw,  1806-18 13  .  .  .  242 
Poland  in  1815 252 


INTRODUCTION 

Once  again  after  a  century  of  oblivion  the 
problem  of  Poland  has  become  a  living  ques- 
tion in  European  politics.  The  Great  War  and 
the  rallying  of  Russia,  England,  and  France 
to  the  cause  of  Serbia,  Belgium,  and  Alsace- 
Lorraine  have  brought  the  whole  question  of 
the  rights  of  small  nationalities  to  the  fore, 
and  have  aroused  high  hopes  of  national  rec- 
ognition and  autonomous  government  in  the 
breasts  of  many  peoples,  subjected  during  long 
generations  to  the  arbitrary  and  galling  rule 
of  alien  conquerors. 

Nowhere  are  these  hopes  stronger  than  among 
the  Poles.  Perhaps  also  they  are  nowhere 
better  founded.  The  Polish  question  is  so  much 
more  than  a  merely  Polish  question,  so  much 
more  even  than  a  Prussian  or  a  Russian  or  an 
Austrian  question  —  as  it  is  often  erroneously 
considered ;  it  is,  in  fact,  a  European  question 
of  such  vital  importance,  that  the  Poles  are 
probably  right  in  thinking  that,  in  mere  self- 
defense  and  for  her  own  purposes,  Europe  must, 
now,  in  her  time  of  crisis,  solve  this  age-long 
problem  in  the  only  possible  way  by  recogniz- 


X  INTRODUCTION 

ing  Polish  nationality  and  securing  for  the  Poles 
an  autonomous  free  government.  For  it  is  the 
simple  truth  that  upon  its  solution  depends  in 
large  measure  the  solution  of  the  far  greater 
problem  whether  the  Slav  peoples  are  to  main- 
tain an  honorable  place  in  the  Europe  of  the 
future  or  be  crushed  out  of  existence  by  the  ad- 
vancing might  of  Pan-Germanism. 

Five  hundred  years  ago  Poland  was  already 
an  old  state  and  one  of  the  greatest  in  Europe, 
with  territories  stretching  far  to  the  north,  east, 
and  south  of  her  homeland,  the  basin  of  the 
river  Vistula.  From  the  Baltic  southwards  to 
the  Carpathians  and  the  Black  Sea,  from  the 
Oder  eastward  to  the  Bug  she  stretched,  a 
great  wedge  of  plain  and  river  valleys  separat- 
ing eastern  or  Slavonic  Europe  from  the  west. 

These  possessions,  which  made  her  incon- 
testably  the  greatest  power  in  eastern  Europe, 
were  won  and  held  by  her  only  after  a  life-and- 
death  struggle  against  the  great  champion  of 
Germanism  in  the  Baltic  lands,  the  Order  of  the 
Teutonic  Knights.  This  semi-monastic  mili- 
tary order — one  of  the  many  which  came  into 
existence  during  the  Crusades  —  was  engaged, 
under  papal  sanction,  in  conquering,  colonizing, 
and  forcibly  Christianizing  the  Baltic  seaboard. 
By  1386  the  whole  Baltic  coast,  from  Pome- 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

rania  to  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  was  in  its  hands. 
Poland  was  thus  cut  off  from  the  sea  and  her 
very  existence  threatened.  In  this  crisis  she 
turned  to  her  neighbor  on  the  east,  the  Grand 
Duchy  of  Lithuania,  and  offered  the  crown  of 
Poland  to  the  reigning  Grand  Duke,  Jagiello,  on 
condition  of  his  marrying  Hedwiga,  the  last  of 
Poland's  ruling  house.  Hedwiga  had  made  very 
different  plans.  She  was,  in  fact,  already  be- 
trothed to  her  cousin,  a  prince  of  the  House 
of  Habsburg,  and  it  was  only  after  her  nobles 
had  shut  her  up  and  threatened  to  starve  her 
that  she  yielded  to  their  wishes,  and  married 
Jagiello,  who  became  King  of  Poland  under 
the  title  of  Wladislaus  II. 

This  union  was  of  enormous  advantage  to 
Poland.  Lithuania  was  a  large  and  powerful 
state,  which  had  come  into  existence  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  the  Lithuanian  tribes 
from  extinction  at  the  hands  of  the  Knights. 
Occupying  originally  the  valley  of  the  river 
Niemen,  Lithuania  had  taken  advantage  of 
the  weakness  of  Russia  under  Tartar  rule  to 
overrun  and  annex  the  vast  territories  of  south- 
ern and  western  Russia  —  Black,  White,  and 
Little  Russia,  including  the  great  basin  of  the 
Dnieper  River.  Her  Grand  Dukes  also  at  this 
time  were  rulers  of  exceptional  ability,  mighty 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

in  war  and  wise  in  peace,  and  under  the  lead- 
ership of  Wladislaus  II  and  his  six  successors 
Poland  became  and  remained  for  two  hundred 
V  years  the  mightiest  state  in  Europe,  both  in 
territory  and  prestige.^ 

Twenty  years  after  the  union,  in  1 410,  the 
Knights  received  their  death-blow  in  the  great 
battle  of  Griinewald,  near  Tannenberg,  and 
fifty  years  later  their  territories  were  divided, 
Poland  annexing  West  Prussia,  which  gave  her 
once  more  an  outlet  on  the  Baltic  and  control 
of  the  mouths  of  the  Vistula,  while  East  Prussia, 
the  territory  originally  occupied  by  the  Knights, 
was  left  to  them  only  as  a  fief  of  the  Polish 
Crown.  Under  the  successors  of  Wladislaus, 
and  especially  as  a  result  of  the  wise  and  pros- 
perous reign  of  his  second  son,  Casimir  IV,  the 
many  different  national  elements  making  up  the 
state  were  fused  and  consolidated  into  a  ho- 
mogeneous political  unit.  Under  Sigismund  II, 
the  last  of  the  race,  Poland  and  Lithuania, 
hitherto  two  states  under  a  common  king,  were 
united  (by  the  Union  of  Lublin  in  1569)  into  a 
single  state,  with  a  common  Diet,  a  common 
religion,  and  a  common  nationality. 

With  the  extinction  of  the  Jagiellon  dynasty 
in  1572  Poland  started  on  the  downward  path. 
The  monarchy,  always  elective  in  theory,  now 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

became  so  in  fact.  A  blind  and  selfish  aristoc- 
racy, the  ruling  class  in  the  country,  obsessed 
with  the  ideal  of  individual  liberty,  guarded 
so  jealously  their  mediaeval  privileges  of  the 
liberum  veto  —  the  ridiculous  and  impossible 
right  of  each  individual  to  kill  legislation  by 
his  veto,  and  the  Pacta  conventa,  a  humiliating 
and  paralyzing  capitulary  imposed  upon  the 
kings  at  election  —  that  any  governmental 
action  became  practically  impossible,  and 
Poland  sank  deeper  and  deeper  into  anarchy, 
inaction,  and  decay,  and  this  at  the  very  time 
when  other  European  states  all  about  her  were 
rapidly  ridding  themselves  of  their  mediaeval- 
ism  and  building  up  strong  centralized  modern 
governments.  Small  wonder  that  Poland  soon 
became  the  tool  of  foreign  Powers  working  out 
their  own  aggrandizement!  During  the  two 
hundred  years  of  her  elective  kingship  Poland 
had,  among  others,  one  French,  one  Hungarian, 
three  Swedish,  and  two  German  (Saxon)  kings, 
each  one  put  upon  her  throne  by  the  intrigues 
of  their  governments  working  upon  the  cupid- 
ity and  poverty  of  the  Polish  nobility.  That 
the  kingdom  remained  territorially  intact  and 
outwardly  powerful  for  so  long  was  due  almost 
solely  to  the  fact  that  Poland's  neighbors  were 
not  quite  ready  to  despoil  her.  That  they  would 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

ultimately  do  so  unless  she  changed  her  ways 
was  clearly  realized  and  frankly  predicted  by 
more  than  one  of  her  rulers.  Stephen  Batory, 
the  Hungarian  King,  who  ruled  from  1575  to 
1586,  said:  "Poles,  you  owe  your  preservation, 
not  to  laws,  for  you  know  them  not,  nor  to 
government,  for  you  respect  it  not;  you  owe  it 
to  nothing  but  chance." 

And  again,  nearly  a  century  later,  John  Casi- 
mir,  the  last  of  the  Swedish  rulers  of  Poland, 
before  he  abdicated  the  throne  in  despair  made 
the  following  remarkable  prediction:  **God 
grant  that  I  may  be  a  false  prophet,  but  I  warn 
you  that  unless  you  take  steps  to  heal  the  dis- 
eases of  the  State,  the  Republic  will  become 
the  prey  of  its  neighbors.  .  .  .  The  Powers  will 
prefer  to  partition  Poland  rather  than  possess 
it  as  a  whole  under  the  anarchical  conditions 
of  to-day."  And  yet  for  something  more  than 
a  century  longer  Poland  preserved  at  least  a 
nominal  independence,  and  the  gloom  of  the 
period  of  her  sure  decay  was  lighted  up  by 
more  than  one  brilliant  political  episode. 
Such  were  King  John  Sobieski's  saving  of 
Vienna  from  the  Turks,  and  the  Russian  ad- 
venture of  Sigismund  III,  as  a  result  of  which 
he  reigned  for  two  years  as  Czar  of  Muscovy. 

By  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  Poland's 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

neighbors  were  ready  to  deal  with  her,  and  she 
was  torn  to  pieces,  her  independence  destroyed, 
and  her  territories  divided  among  her  assassins, 
Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia,  Russia  taking  by 
far  the  larger  share.  But  though  her  body 
politic  was  cut  to  pieces,  the  soul  of  Poland 
did  not  die.  On  the  contrary,  ever.since  her 
destruction  as  a  state  her  feeling  as  a  people  has 
been  growing  stronger,  until  to-  day,  there  is  no 
national  group  where  the  national  conscious- 
ness is  stronger  or  where  patriotism  flames 
higher  than  among  the  Poles.    / 

Until  recently  the  Poles  have  regarded  suc- 
cessful revolution  against  the  Czar  as  the  only 
path  to  freedom,  but  since  the  Revolution  of 
1863  —  the  last  of  a  series  which  always  ended 
in  failure  and  were  followed  almost  automati- 
cally and  necessarily  by  ruthless  repression  — 
a  wiser  feeling  has  been  evolved.  The  vision- 
ary and  the  idealist  have  given  place  as  Polish 
leaders  to  practical  statesmen  who  have  seen 
and  have  taught  their  countrymen  that  the 
only  possibility  for  Polish  autonomy  is  through 
a  friendly  understanding  with  Russia.  More- 
over, they  have  believed  for  some  time  that 
such  an  understanding  was  not  so  remote  a 
possibility  as  the  existing  relations  between 
the  two  peoples  would  seem  to  imply. 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

As  the  scope  of  the  Pan-Germanist  policy 
gradually  revealed  itself  to  Europe,  and  its 
menace  to  the  whole  Slav  world  began  to  be 
understood,  Poles  were  among  the  first  to 
recognize  the  importance  of  Poland  in  the  ap- 
proaching struggle  of  the  Slav  peoples  against 
German  hegemony.  The  location  of  Poland 
made  it  inevitable  that  on  her  territory  must 
be  fought  the  first  battles  of  the  German  ad- 
vance on  Russia;  in  Poland  must  be  erected  the 
first  lines  of  defense  of  the  great  Slav  Empire 
against  Pan-Germanism,  and  the  Polish  lead- 
ers realized  that  when  the  crisis  came,  Russia 
would  pay  a  heavy  price  to  have  behind  those 
defenses  a  loyal  Slav  population  looking  to  the 
Czar  as  the  leader  of  the  Slav  cause.  They 
have,  therefore,  made  it  quite  clearly  under- 
stood during  the  past  few  years  that  a  proper 
recognition  of  their  autonomy  within  the  Em- 
pire was  the  price  they  asked  for  reconciliation 
with  Russia  and  loyal  support  of  the  Czar's 
Government. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  has  long  been  obvious 
to  enlightened  Russians  that  the  Russification 
policy  in  Poland  was  not  only  a  mistake,  but 
also  a  failure,  and  that  such  ends  as  it  achieved 
were  to  the  advantage  neither  of  Poland  nor 
of  Russia,   but  of   Germany  —  a   conviction 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

strongly  supported  by  the  fact  that  for  a  hun- 
dred years  German  diplomacy  at  Petrograd 
has  worked  steadily  against  Polish  autonomy 
and  against  the  reconciliation  of  Poland  and 
Russia. 

These  considerations  make  it  understandable 
that  when,  in  August  of  1914,  scarcely  two 
weeks  after  the  German  declaration  of  war 
against  Russia,  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  is- 
sued a  proclamation  to  the  Poles,  offering  them 
friendship  on  their  own  terms  of  freedom  in 
language,  religion,  and  government,  it  was 
taken  quite  seriously  in  Poland,  —  though 
scoffed  at  suspiciously  in  other  quarters,  —  and 
representatives  of  the  leading  democratic 
parties  in  Poland,  the  Democratic  National 
Party,  the  Polish  Progressive  Party,  the  Real- 
ist Party,  and  the  Polish  Progressive  Union, 
met  in  Warsaw  and  issued  a  manifesto  in  re- 
sponse to  the  Grand  Duke's  proclamation  in 
which  they  said:  "The  Representatives  wel- 
come the  Proclamation  ...  as  an  act  of  fore- 
most political  importance,  and  implicitly  be- 
lieve that  upon  the  termination  of  the  war  the 
promises  uttered  in  that  proclamation  will  be 
formally  fulfilled,  that  the  dreams  of  their 
forefathers  will  be  realized.  .  .  .  The  blood  of 
Poland's  sons,  shed  in  united  combat  against 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

the  Germans,  will  serve  as  a  sacrifice  upon  the 
altar  of  her  Resurrection." 

What  the  real  significance  of  these  documents 
may  be  and  what  Fate  holds  in  store  for  Po- 
land are  matters  that  the  future  alone  can  re- 
veal. Meanwhile,  however,  the  anti-German 
feeling  that  Poles  and  Russians  shared  before 
the  war  —  almost  the  only  feeling  they  had  in 
common !  —  has  been  enormously  increased  by 
German  policy  since  the  war  began.  Austria 
also  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Poles  before 
her  invasion  of  the  Russian  provinces,  offering 
them  independence  under  Austrian  and  Ger- 
man protection.  But  when  the  Polish  terri- 
tories came  into  German  hands  the  promise 
was  apparently  forgotten,  and  a  policy  of  Ger- 
manization  of  the  harshest  sort  was  immedi- 
ately inaugurated. 

But  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  expect  Germany 
to  do  otherwise.  Recognition  of  Polish  auton- 
omy in  the  Russian  provinces  would  mean, 
not  only  abandoning  the  policy  of  Germaniza- 
tion  pursued  consistently  and  with  heavy  cost 
for  a  century  in  her  own  Polish  provinces,  but 
also  reversing  the  general  policy  by  which,  ever 
since  the  time  of  the  Great  Elector,  the  Hohen- 
zollerns  have  amalgamated  and  absorbed  alien 
populations  and  made  Germany  a  unit.  To-day 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

as  always,  it  is  only  by  Germanizing  the  Slavs 
that  Germanism  can  advance  at  their  expense. 
If  she  cannot  Germanize  the  Poles,  not  only 
can  Germany  not  advance  beyond  them,  but 
their  nationalism  constitutes  a  very  serious 
menace  to  the  loyalty  of  the  Poles  in  her  own 
provinces.  The  problem  of  Poland  is  thus  a 
vital  one  for  Germany. 

It  is  no  less  so  for  Russia.  Russia  aspires  to 
be  the  protector  and  leader  of  the  great  Slav 
race,  the  champion  of  the  rights  of  Slav  na- 
tionalities. Yet  the  most  numerous  of  Slav 
nations,  and  the  only  one  toward  whom  she  has 
entire  freedom  of  action,  the  Poles,  have  re- 
ceived nothing  but  repression  at  her  hands.  If 
Russian  leadership  of  the  Southern  Slavs  is  to 
be  in  any  sense  a  real  leadership  based  on  mu- 
tual confidence,  she  must  show  her  good  faith 
by  first  putting  her  own  house  in  order  and 
making  her  policy  consistent  by  doing  justice 
to  the  Poles. 


^  A  BRIEF   HISTORY  OF 
POLAND 

CHAPTER  I 

ORIGIN  AND   EAR:feY  HISTORY 
THE  ERA   OF   BEGINNINGS,    962-I386 

I.  962-1139 

When  the  light  of  history  first  dawned  upon 
them,  the  Slav  ancestors  of  the  Polish  people 
were  dwelling  in  the  valley  of  the  Vistula. 
How  they  came  there  and  where  they  came 
from  are  largely  matters  of  conjecture.  The 
real  history  of  Poland  in  any  proper  sense  be- 
gins with  the  tenth  century.  For  the  years 
before  that  date  we  have  no  reliable  histori- 
cal material,  though  legends  abound  as  to  the 
origin  and  early  life  of  the  Polish  state. 

From  what  scanty  material  we  have  it  seems 
probable  that  the  Slavs,  an  Indo-European  peo- 
ple coming  from  Asia  —  we  do  not  know  when 
or  why  —  were  settled,  about  the  second  cen- 
tury A.D.,  on  the  Danube,  were  driven  thence  by 
some  stronger  people,  perhaps  the  Romans,  and 
were  later  at  home  for  some  centuries  on  the 
slopes  and  plateaus  of  the  Carpathians.   Once 


2       BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

again  they  were  driven  out,  this  time  by  the 
Avars  in  the  seventh  century,  and,  fleeing 
north,  south,  and  west  before  their  conquerors, 
scattered  themselves  all  over  central  and  south- 
western Europe.  One  large  group,  pushing 
westward,  were  stopped  by  the  Germans  on 
the  Elbe,  which  thus  marked  their  western 
boundary.  They  are  known  as  the  Western 
Slavs,  for  obvious  reasons,  and  they  occupied 
the  territory  between  the  Elbe  and  the  Bug, 
the  Baltic,  and  the  Carpathians.  The  Poles 
were  part  of  this  group,  while  the  Russians, 
or  Eastern  Slavs,  their  age-long  foes,  formed  a 
group  just  next  them  on  the  east,  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Dnieper  and  its  tributaries. 

In  the  ninth  century  the  invasion  of  another 
Asiatic  people,  the  Magyars,  and  their  perma- 
nent settlement  on  the  plains  of  Hungary, 
thrust  a  wedge  right  into  Slavdom,  effectively 
separated  the  Slavs  of  the  north  and  those  of 
the  south,  and  resulted  in  an  entirely  separate 
historical  development  of  the  two  regions.  It  is 
only  in  the  last  two  centuries  that  the  expan- 
sion of  Russia  to  the  south  and  the  revival  of 
a  strong  race-consciousness,  as  shown  in  the 
Pan-Slavic  movement,  have  brought  the  South- 
ern Slavs  once  more  into  contact  with  their 
brethren  of  the  north. 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS       3 

The  Eastern  Slavs,  or  the  Russians,  settled 
along  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Dnieper,  very 
early  opened  up  a  vigorous  trade  with  the 
Scandinavians  to  the  north  of  them,  and  later 
pushed  down  the  river  to  the  Black  Sea  and 
traded  with  Constantinople^  The  great  barren 
steppe  or  prairie  bordering  the  Black  Sea  on 
the  north,  which  formed  Russia's  southeastern 
boundary,  was  a  "No  Man's  Land,"  a  great 
highway  along  which,  through  the  ages,  the 
Asiatic  peoples  followed  one  another  in  long 
procession  to  the  west,  and  by  which  they  re- 
turned east  again.  Over  it  had  wandered,  from 
time  immemorial,  nomads  of  all  races  and 
countries,  and  Russian  trade  needed  constant 
protection  against  these  peoples,  all  fiercer  and 
more  warlike  than  themselves.  This  protec-. 
tion  was  supplied  by  the  Varangians,  a  band\ 
of  Norsemen,  who,  under  the  leadership  of 
their  chief,  Rurik,  came  into  the  Dnieper  Val- 
ley in  the  ninth  century,  and,  conquering  the 
Slav  people  already  there,  built  up  the  first 
Russian  state,  with  its  capital  at  Kiev.  — • 

The  evidence  for  the  origin  of  the  Polish 
state  is  not  so  clear.  ;The  Western  Slavs, 
spread  over  the  country  between  the  Elbe  and 
the  Bug,  lived  probably  in  separate,  half- 
nomadic  tribal  groups  until  pressure  from  the 


4       BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Germans  on  the  west  obliged  them  to  combine 
for  defense.  The  Poles,  whose  name  signifies 
,  I** Plain-dwellers'*  or  "Lowlanders/*  occupied 
I  the  region  of  the  Wartha,  and  according  to  the 
legends,  it  was  a  Polish  peasant,  Piast,  who, 
drawing  the  tribes  together,  founded  the  Polish 
state  and  established  a  dynasty  that  ruled  in 
Poland  for  five  hundred  years.  The  Poles  have 
always  claimed  to  be  the  purest  of  Slav  peoples, 
but  it  is  probable  that  in  Poland  as  in  Russia 
there  was  a  strong  Norse  element.  The  Vikings 
were  all  along  the  Baltic  seaboard  at  this  time, 
sailing  up  the  rivers,  plundering  and  taking 
possession  of  the  lands  as  they  pleased,  and 
there  is  at  least  indirect  evidence  of  their  pene- 
tration by  way  of  the  rivers  into  the  Polish 
plain.  MUit.i^^ 

In  the  tenth  century,  when  Duke  Mieczys- 
y  law  I,  the  first  non-legendary  ruler  of  Poland,; 
supposedly  the  great-grandson  of  Piast,  emerges 
into  history,  his  state  comprised  the  greater 
part  of  the  Slav  tribes  east  of  the  Oder,  west 
of  the  Bug,  north  of  the  Carpathians,  and  south 
of  the  Netze  River.  Though  at  different  times 
in  succeeding  centuries  the  Polish  state  ex- 
tended its  rule  far  to  the  east  and  to  the  west 
of  these  lines,  yet  it  is  the  territory  within  them 
that  is  properly  Poland.  Whenever  there  has 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS       5 

been  a  Polish  state  this  has  been  its  nucleus, 
and,  independently  of  political  conditions,  this 
territory  has  remained  the  permanent  home 
of  the  Polish  race.  Here,  in  spite  of  all  efforts 
at  Russification  and  Germanization,  the  peo- 
ple are  to-day,  as  always,  predominantly  Polish. 
Outside  these  lines  this  is  not  true.  The  Car- 
pathians form  a  natural  boundary  to  the  south, 
beyond  which  the  Poles  never  penetrated,  and 
the  marshes  north  of  the  Netze  and  in  Maso- 
via  made  advance  in  this  direction  difficult,  too 
difficult  to  achieve  in  the  face  of  steady  German 
opposition.  To  the  east  and  to  the  west,  how- 
ever, the  land  lies  open  and  unprotected  and 
has  lured  the  Poles  to  conquest  when  they  were 
strong,  exposed  them  to  German  and  Russian 
aggression  when  they  were  weak,  and  resulted 
in  a  constant  shifting  of  their  eastern  and  west- 
ern frontiers. 

In  the  tenth  century  the  Germans  were  en- 
gaged in  a  great  forward  movement  on  their 
eastern  frontier.  As  elsewhere,  when  directed 
against  heathen  people,  this  was  a  crusading 
as  well  as  a  conquering  and  colonizing  move- 
ment. Christian  missionaries  preceded  and  ac- 
companied the  Imperial  armies,  and  the  men 
of  the  armies  themselves  were  also  soldiers  of 
the  Cross,  who,  sword  in  hand,  compelled  their 


6       BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

heathen  brethren  to  believe  and  be  baptized, 
and  thus  save  their  lives  as  well  as  their  souls. 

It  was  to  oppose  this  advancing  Germandom 
^and  Christendom  that  the  union  of  the  Poles 
into  a  single  state  had  come  about,  but  when 
Duke  Mieczyslaw  came  to  the  head  of  the  state, 
he  found  the  odds  against  him  in  the  struggle. 
That  the  Germans  had  gained  a  real  influence 
in  the  country  is  seen  by  the  fact  that  they  had 
set  up  a  bishopric  at  Gnesen,  under  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Magdeburg,  and  that  Mieczyslaw 
held  some  of  his  lands  under  Imperial  suze- 
rainty. Unable  to  oppose  both  Germanism 
and  Christianity,  he  became  a  Christian  in  the 
hope  of  saving  his  state  from  absorption  by  the 
Germans.  Putting  away  his  heathen  wives,  he 
married  a  Christian  princess  of  Bohemia,  the 
Princess  Dobrawa,  and  set  to  work  to  bring 
his  people  to  his  new  faith.  As  a  good  deal  of 
preliminary  work  had  probably  already  been 
done,  and  as  Mieczyslaw  had  the  help  of  Jor- 
dan, German  Bishop  of  Gnesen,  and  of  St.  Adal- 
bert, Bishop  of  Prague,  Poland  soon  became  a 
Christian  state,  at  least  outwardly. 

With  this  same  aim  of  maintaining  the  inde- 
pendence of  Poland,  the  Duke  made  friends  with 
the  Germans.  After  the  death  of  Dobrawa 
he  married  a  German  wife,  and  even  took 


p 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS 


sides  with  the  Empire  against  the  Slavs  west 
of  the  Oder.  In  return,  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
reign,  he  received  German  help  in  a  war  against 
Bohemian  encroachment  on  his  territories.  At 
his  death  Poland  had  emerged  from  its  heathen 
obscurity,  and  had  become  a  recognized  part  of 
the  Western  Christian  world.  This  is  quaintly 
symbolized  in  the  old  legend  which  made 
Mieczyslaw  blind  until  his  seventh  year,  when 
he  received  full  sight. 

According  to  the  Slavonic  custom,  Mieczys- 
law divided  his  lands  among  his  sons.  But 
the  eldest  dreamed  of  a  great,  united  Poland, 
and  in  order  to  realize  his  dream,  drove  out  his 
brothers  and  ruled  alone  over  the  whole  king- 
dom, as  Boleslaus  I  (992-1025).  His  dispos- 
sessed brothers  housed  their  neighbors  against 
him,  and  he  was  obliged  to  fight  on  all  his 
frontiers.  The  wars  which  filled  his  reign,  how- 
ever, were  not  all  defensive.  He  desired  to  free 
Poland  from  all  dependence  on  the  Emperor, 
from  whom  as  suzerain  he  held  his  lands  west  of 
the  Wartha,  and  also  he  dreamed  of  conquering 
Bohemia  and  uniting  it  with  Poland  in  a  great 
Slav  Empire.  He  thought  the'' amalgamation 
of  the  two  peoples  would  be  easy,  on  account 
of  the  likeness  of  the  two  languages. 

For  fifteen  years  he  fought  the  combined 


^^' 


8       BRIEF.  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

forces  of  Bohemia  and  the  Emperor  Henry  II 
for  these  purposes,  and  in  the  end  gained  his 
freedom  from  Imperial  control  and  annexed 
the  Bohemian  provinces  of  Moravia,  Silesia, 
and  Cracow  to  his  territories.  He  was  not  able, 
however,  to  accomplish  the  union  of  Bohemia 
and  Poland.  For  a  year,  indeed,  he  held  and 
ruled  Bohemia,  but  he  was  not  strong  enough 
to  keep  it  without  the  Emperor's  sanction,  and 
Henry  would  acknowledge  his  claim  only  on 
conditions  of  Imperial  dependence  which  Boles- 
laus  refused  to  accept.  When  this  plan  failed, 
he  made  his  peace  with  the  King  of  Bohemia, 
and  tried  to  get  him  to  unite  with  Poland  in 
forming  a  league  of  Slav  states  against  the 
Germans.  This  also  failed,  but  this  early  at- 
tempt at  Pan-Slavism  shows  that  even  in  the 
eleventh  century  the  sure  instinct  of  a  great 
Polish  leader  recognized  in  Germany  the  abid- 
ing danger  to  Slav  independence,  and  saw  in 
united  opposition  the  only  safety  for  Slavdom. 
After  he  had  finished  his  western  campaigns, 
Boleslaus  made  an  expedition  into  Russia,  in 
order  to  replace  on  the  throne  of  Kiev  his 
son-in-law,  Sviatopolk,-'expelled  by  the  sons  of 
Vladimir  the  Great.  He  was  unable  to  accom- 
plish it,  however,  as  the  country  was  against 
Sviatopolk.    Shortly  before  his  death,  Boles- 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS       9 

laus  took  the  title  of  **  King,"  which  he  was  the  ^ 
first  of  his  line  to  bear. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  Boleslaus 
saw  the  importance  of  having  the  support  of 
the  Church  in  his  project  of  independence 
from  the  Empire.  He  desired  the  independence\ 
of  the  Polish  Church  as  at  once  a  step  toward, 
and  a  guaranty  of,  the  independence  of  the 
Polish  state.  He  made  Gnesen  a  great  shrine, 
by  placing  there  the  relics  of  St.  Adalbert,  the 
martyred  Bishop  of  Prague,  which  relics  he 
bought  from  the  Prussians,  by  whom  St. 
Adalbert  had  been  murdered  when  he  went 
among  them  to  preach  the  Gospel.  Shortly 
after,  in  the  year  1000,  the  Emperor  Otto  III 
paid  a  visit  of  piety  to  the  shrine  of  the  saint, 
who  was  his  old  friend  as  well,  and  Boleslaus 
got  him  on  this  occasion  to  raise  the  See  of 
Gnesen  to  metropolitan  rank,  with  jurisdiction 
over  the  three  bishoprics  of  Cracow,  Breslau, 
and  Kolberg,  thus  freeing  these  Polish  sees  from 
dependence  on  Magdeburg.  In  his  internal  as, 
well  as  in  his  foreign  policy,  Boleslaus  showed(| 
himself  a  great  ruler.  He  founded  churches, 
endowed  monasteries  and  schools,  built  roads, 
and  encouraged  commerce  with  all  the  neigh- 
boring states.  In  order  to  increase  the  wealth 
and  prosperity  of  the  country,  he  settled  pris- 


10     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

oners  of  war  on  the  land,  gave  them  their  free- 
dom, and  set  them  to  work  to  clear  the  forest, 
plant  the  land,  and  make  themselves  into  pros- 
perous colonists.  The  King  also  protected  the 
poor  and  the  powerless  from  the  oppression  of 
the  nobility,  and  exacted  the  strictest  and  most 
implicit  obedience  from  high  and  low  alike. 
Though  genial  and  kindly  with  his  friends  and 
associates,  he  was  stern  to  the  evil-doer  and  to 
those  who  crossed  his  will.  The  strength  of 
the  ruler's  personality  was  the  measure  of  good 
government  in  those  primitive  days.  The  great 
nobles  struggled  unceasingly  for  the  right  to 
rob  and  to  exploit  their  peasants,  and  only  the 
strong  arm  of  a  strong  king  held  them  back. 
The  old  chroniclers  speak  often  of  the  warm 
affection  in  which  Boleslaus  was  held  by  his 
people,  over  whom  he  spread  the  protection  of 
his  justice. 

Because  he  made  his  kingdom  really  inde- 

J  pendent  of  German  control  both  in  Church. 

^and  State,  Boleslaus  is  often  called  its  real 
founder.  Though  the  Germans  tried  to  ignore 
this  independence,  and  for  centuries  continued 
to  demand,  and  sometimes  got,  the  recognition 
of  their  sovereignty  over  Polish  lands,  it  was 
never  really  effective,  and  Poland  remained  for 
centuries  what  Boleslaus  had  made  her,  "the 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      ii 

unconquered  kernel  of  Western  Slavdom." 
Germany  had  indeed  succeeded  in  Christianiz- 
ing Poland,  but  she  had  failed  to  conquer  her, 
which  was  the  ultimate  purpose  of  the  conver- 
sion. 

The  political  organization  of  the  kingdom 
over  which  Boleslaus  ruled  was  very  simple. 
Class  distinctions  had  already  come  into  ex- 
istence. All  men  except  the  slaves  taken  in 
war  were  free  and  equal  before  the  law,  but 
there  was  a  distinction  between  the  szlachta, 
or  landed  nobility,  and  the  kmeten  or  simple 
freemen,  who  possessed  no  land,  but  worked 
the  land  belonging  to  some  member  of  the  no- 
bility, and  paid  him  for  it  both  in  service  and 
in  produce.  Originally,  in  all  probability,  the 
kmeten  also  were  landowners,  and  there  was 
simply  the  one  free  class,  but  before  the  time 
of  Boleslaus  the  natural  inequalities  among 
men  and  the  pressure  of  economic  necessity 
had  created  the  difference.  Military  service 
was  required  of  all,  the  szlachta  on  horseback 
and  the  kmeten  on  foot,  and  the  constant  wars, 
which  were  so  impoverishing,  depressed  the 
poorer  nobles  oftentimes  to  the  kmeten  class. 
Each  war  meant  more  slaves  and  more  kmeten, 
but  in  spite  of  this  the  nobles  remained  for 
centuries  the  most  numerous  as  well  as  the 


12     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

most  important  —  the  only  really  important 
part  of  the  nation.  All  nobles  were  of  the  same 
rank,  and  all  classes  were  governed  by  the  king 
directly,  and  paid  tribute  directly  to  him.  The 
feudal  system  with  its  divided  sovereignty  was 
never  introduced  into  Poland.  From  the  ear- 
liest times  some  nobles  were  more  important 
than  others,  but  they  became  so,  undoubtedly, 
through  that  personal  initiative  which  differ- 
entiates one  man  from  another  in  even  the 
most  democratic  society.  Ability  to  lead  in 
war  was  probably  the  basis  of  most  early  su- 
periority, as  war  was  their  chief  occupation 
and  the  main  element  in  their  lives.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  Germans  undoubtedly  hastened 
this  development  of  the  higher  nobility,  the  so- 
called  magnates  or  pans  of  later  centuries. 

The  districtrwhich  was  the  unit  of  local  gov- 
ernment in  early  Poland,  and  which,  through  its 
assembly  of  the  inhabitants  and  its  local  mag- 
istrate, managed  its  own  local  affairs,  was  the 
oldest  institution  among  the  Poles,  and  was 
probably  based  on  the  original  division  of  the 
land  among  the  tribes.  It  was  an  institution 
far  older  than  the  princely  power,  was  common 
to  all  Slav  peoples,  and  was  thoroughly  demo- 
cratic, as  were  all  the  early  Slav  institutions. 
Throughout  the  country^  in  the  center  of  a 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      13 

district  or  of  a  group  of  several  districts,  strong 
places  or  castles  were  built  for  defense,  and 
served  as  places  of  refuge  in  time  of  invasion, 
as  well  as  administrative  centers.  '  Over  each 
castle  was  a  Castellan,  who  in  time  of  war  led 
the  people  of  his  district,  and  in  peace  dispensed 
justice  and  looked  after  the  king's  interests, 
collecting  his  tribute,  overseeing  the  cultivation 
of  his  lands,  and  other  matters  of  a  similar  sort. 
The  great  kingdom  which  Boleslaus  had 
gathered  together  was  not  destined  to  last. 
His  son  Mieczyslaw  II,  a  weak  prince,  reigned 
only  nine  years.  Upon  his  death  the  govern-  ' 
ment  devolved  upon  his  widow.  Queen  Rixa,  as  \ 
regent  for  their  minor  son  Casimir.  The  Queen 
was  a  German,  a  relative  of  the  Emperor,  de- 
sirous of  restoring  the  German  influence  in 
Poland,  which  country  she  neither  liked  nor 
understood.  She  gave  all  the  important  po- 
sitions to  Germans,  and  governed  with  such 
entire  disregard  of  Polish  customs  and  Polish 
interests  that  after  a  few  years  the  nobles  re- 
volted, and  she  was  obliged  to  flee  to  Germany, 
taking  her  son  and  the  public  treasure  with  her. 
The  country,  thus  deprived  of  its  leaders,  fell 
into  anarchy  and  civil  war.  Everywhere  the 
peasants,  oppressed  and  exploited  by  the  no- 
bles during  the  weak  rule  of  Mieczyslaw  and 


14    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Rixa,  now  rose  against  their  oppressors,  aided 
in  many  cases  by  those  colonies  of  prisoners  of 
war  which  Boleslaus  had  established.  In  many 
communities,  where  Christianity  formed  only  a 
thin  official  veneer  over  the  old  paganism,  the 
people  rose  against  the  new  faith,  which  was 
regarded  more  or  less  as  a  German  innovation 
and  an  instrument  of  oppression.  They  pil- 
laged and  destroyed  the  churches  and  killed 
the  clergy.  The  external  enemies  of  Poland 
also,  Russians,  Prussians,  and  Bohemians, 
taking  advantage  of  her  defenseless  position, 
seized  the  moment  to  invade  her  territories, 
and  destroyed  what  little  of  value  the  ravages 
of  civil  war  had  spared.  They  burned  villages 
and  towns,  killing  or  carrying  off  the  inhabit- 
ants, so  that  great  tracts  of  country  were  en- 
tirely depopulated  and  made  into  a  desert.  In 
all  this  desolation  only  one  leader  showed  him- 
self able  to  protect  his  territory  against  ag- 
gression. This  chief  was  Maslav  of  Masovia, 
who  made  the  marshes  of  his  country  a  refuge 
/  for  the  persecuted  of  other  states,  and  thereby 
built  up  a  domination  for  himself  which  it  was 
found  hard  to  destroy.  Finally,  after  five  years 
of  this  anarchy,  the  young  Casimir  was  re- 
called to  his  kingdom,  which  he  rulfed  with 
wisdom    for    sixteen    years,    restoring    order, 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS     15 

rebuilding  towns  and  churches,  and  insuring 
peace  with  Russia  by  marrying  Mary,  the  sister 
of  the  Grand  Prince  of  Kiev.  He  was  able, 
however,  to  do  but  little  in  the  way  of  winning 
back  lost  territories.  ^^Jb 

His  son,  Boleslaus  II,  called  the  Dauntless, 
was  primarily  a  soldier,  eager  to  fight  for  any 
and  every  cause,  but  he  was  a  bad  ruler,  a  rob- 
ber of  citizens,  an  oppressor  of  the  poor.  He 
became,  however,  the  champion  of  dispossessed 
princes,  of  whom  this  turbulent  age  furnished 
many,  and  spent  long  years  fighting  to  restore 
to  their  thrones  the  rulers  of  Hungary,  of  Rus- 
sia, and  of  Bohemia.  The  long  wars  kept  the 
King  and  his  soldiers  away  from  Poland  dur- 
ing many  years,  and  the  story  that  is  told  of 
internal  conditions  during  this  absence  shows 
only  too  plainly  that  Poland  was  but  very 
slightly  Christianized  and  civilized,  and  that 
it  was  very  easy  for  her  to  drop  back  into 
pagan  and  barbarous  ways  of  life. 

It  is  said  that  the  wives  of  the  soldiers,  de- 
serted by  their  husbands  for  war  and  the  pleas- 
ures of  foreign  cities,  especially  Kiev,  where 
the  voluptuous  life  of  the  East  had  made  a 
strong  appeal  to  their  senses,  had  very  gen- 
erally consoled  themselves  with  other  lovers, 
some  of  them  their  own  slaves.   Rumors  of  this 


i6    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

situation  reaching  the  soldiers,  they  had  rushed 
home,  without  permission  from  the  King,  to 
punish  the  unfaithful  wives  and  their  servile 
seducers.  A  civil  war  resulted,  in  which  even 
the  women  took  part,  often  fighting  for  their 
lovers  against  their  husbands.  In  the  midst  of 
the  struggle,  the  King  appeared  with  the  few 
troops  faithful  to  him,  and  meted  out  punish- 
ment to  all,  slaves,  women,  and  renegade  sol- 
diers alike.  So  terrible  was  his  vengeance  that 
Stanislaus,  Bishop  of  Cracow,  threatened  him 
with  excommunication  if  he  did  not  cease  his 
bloody  work.  The  King,  in  a  rage,  rushed  into 
the  church  and  stabbed  and  killed  the  Bishop 
before  the  high  altar.  At  this  the  nobles  rose 
in  a  body,  and  drove  him  from  his  throne  and 
his  kingdom,  the  Pope  excommunicated  him, 
and,  visiting  the  sins  of  the  father  upon  the  chil- 
dren, excluded  his  sons  from  the  succession. 
This  action  was  especially  significant  as  it  was 
the  first  time  that  the  Church  had  come  into 
political  importance  in  Poland.  Some  authori- 
ties believe  that  the  quarrel  between  Bishop 
Stanislaus  and  the  King  was  the  result  of  polit- 
ical differences,  that  the  Bishop  had  joined  an 
aristocratic  party  which  was  struggling  to  re- 
duce the  power  of  the  King  in  its  own  interests; 
certainly  the  exile  of  Boleslaus  greatly  strength- 


THE  ERA  OF  BECrNNINGS      17 

ened  the  nobles,  but  the  kingly  power  was  still 
so  great  that  the  King's  brother,  Wladislaus  |^  • 
Herman,  succeeded  him  without  protest  or 
question.  Wladislaus  was  not  allowed,  how- 
ever, by  the  Pope,  to  call  himself  King,  but 
only  Duke,  of  Poland. 

Wladislaus,  himself  quite  incapable  of  rul- 
ing, put  the  whole  kingly  power  into  the  hands 
of  a  dishonest  and  unworthy  favorite,  who  ruled 
so  badly  that  finally  the  sons  of  Wladislaus  led 
a  revolt  which  drove  him  from  the  country. 

The  death  of  Wladislaus  Herman  for  a  time 
increased  internal  difficulties.  An  illegitimate 
son  of  Wladislaus  contested  the  throne  with 
Boleslaus  HI,  the  legitimate  successor,  and  in- 
volved Boleslaus  in  a  long  warfare,  external  as  l 
well  as  internal,  because  all  of  his  neighbors, 
Prussians,  Pomeranians,  Bohemians,  and  Ger- 
mans, eager  for  his  territory,  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity of  the  contested  succession  to  invade 
his  borders.  Boleslaus  conquered  them  all,  and 
reunited  Silesia  and  Pomerania  to  Poland.  ^ 
With  the  Emperor  Henry  V  he  signed  a  peace 
which  was  sealed  by  Boleslaus's  marriage  with 
Henry's  sister,  and  the  latter  years  of  his 
reign  were  devoted  to  the  work  of  re-Chris- 
tianizing his  people,  who  during  the  preced- 
ing reigns  had  shown  so  plainly  how  slight  an 


i8     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

impression  the  principles  of  their  religion  had 
made  upon  their  lives. 
X  But  though  Boleslaus  III  had  been  able  to 
reconquer  provinces  and  maintain  Poland's  in- 
dependence against  the  Empire,  the  long  period 
of  disorder  following  the  death  of  Mieczys- 
law  II  had  enormously  weakened  the  prestige 
and  power  of  the  monarchy,  and  had  strength- 
ened proportionately  that  of  the  nobility  and 
the  clergy,  which  increased  rapidly  during  the 
years  of  confusion.  When,  just  before  his 
death  in  1138,  Boleslaus  III  divided  his  terri- 
tory among  his  four  sons,  he  put  an  end  to 
the  unity  of  Poland  for  two  hundred  years. 
Though  nominally  the  kingship  was  in  the 
hands  of  his  eldest  son,  Wladislaus,  Duke  of 
Cracow,  the  alienation  of  so  much  of  his  terri- 
tory, in  addition  to  other  circumstances,  made 
his  control  over  his  brothers  purely  nominal, 
and  began  the  so-called  *'Partitional  Period," 
which  lasted  for  two  hundred  years,  during 
which  the  territory  and  the  sovereignty  of 
Poland  were  divided  and  redivided  into  many 
independent  but  weak  and  small  principali- 
ties, constantly  warring  with  one  another. 
During  this  period  all  sense  of  Poland's  un^ty 
as  a  state  was  lost,  her  weakness  exposed  her  to 
constant  aggression  from  without,  and  neces- 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      19 

sitated  an  entire  reorganization,  both  external 
and  internal,  when  in  1320  a  strong  Prince  be- 
came Duke  of  Cracow,  and  once  more  united*^ 
the  Polish  lands. 

Boleslaus  I  had  had  a  very  definite  policy  of 
Slav  union  and  Slav  advance  against  the  Ger- 
mans, and  in  pursuance  of  this  idea  had  pushed 
the  limits  of  his  state  westward  and  northward 
to  the  Elbe  and  the  Baltic.  After  his  death 
this  statesmanlike  policy  was  given  up,  and  no 
one  of  his  descendants  showed  any  practical 
appreciation  of  the  vital  necessity  of  the  pos- 
session of  all  the  territories  within  these  limits, 
if  Poland  was  to  have  a  defensible  frontier 
against  German  aggression,  and  was  to  remain 
the  greatest  of  central  European  states  which 
Boleslaus  had  made  her. 

The  reign  of  the  German  Emperor  Henry  IV 
(1050- 1 106),  when  Germany  was  weakened  by  ^iJ^ 
her  great  internal  struggle  against  the  Papacy,  ^"^ 
offered  the  most  favorable  opportunity  to  flie 
Poles  to  reconquer  Pomerania  and  the  Western 
Slavs,  and  thus  consolidate  the  state.  Had 
they  used  it  their  whole  future  would  have  been 
different.  But  no  ruler  of  vision  and  power 
arose  from  the  confusion  and  difficulties  of  the 
period,  and  nothing  was  done.  So  when,  a 
century  later,  the  Germans  had  settled  their 


20    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

internal  difficulties  and  were  ready  to  begin 
another  eastward  movement,  the  Poles  were 
at  their  mercy.  Their  opportunity  to  become 
a  western  European  state  was  gone,  never  to 
return.  Henceforth  they  were  obliged  to  turn 
their  ambitions  toward  the  east. 

2.  I 139-1320 

When  Boleslaus  III  divided  his  lands  among 
his  four  sons,  with  suzerainty  over  his  brothers 
in  the  hands  of  the  eldest,  he  was  following  an 
old  Slav  custom,  common  to  both  Poland  and 
Russia.  The  idea  at  the  bottom  of  this  custom 
was  that  the  kingdom  belonged,  not  to  the  eld- 
est son  of  the  reigning  monarch,  but  to  the 
whole  princely  family,  and  that  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  family,  by  virtue  of  his  seniority, 
exercised  a  certain  fatherly  authority  over  the 
others,  which  was  shown  by  his  possession  of 
the  capital  and  other  chief  places  of  the  king- 
dom. He  was  bound,  however,  to  provide  for 
the  younger  members  of  the  family,  and  was 
thus  obliged  to  carve  up  his  kingdom  into  ever 
smaller  and  smaller  bits,  as  the  generations 
multiplied.  According  to  this  theory,  the  ter- 
ritorial divisions  were  merely  temporal  ar- 
rangements, lasting  only  during  the  lifetime  of 
a  single  prince,  and  were  not  hereditary  in  the 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      21 

family  of  any  occupant,  but  when  he  died,  and 
his  eldest  relative  (not  usually  his  son,  but  a 
brother,  or  uncle,  or  cousin)  succeeded  him,  an 
entirely  new  apportionment  of  the  kingdom 
among  the  members  of  the  family  took  place, 
the  more  desirable  provinces  going  to  the  older 
members,  the  less  desirable  to  the  younger,  in  a 
regular  order  of  succession.  This  same  process 
went  on  within  the  provinces  assigned  to  each 
of  the  major  princes,  and  similarly  all  the  way 
down  the  princely  line,  as  long  as  territories  re- 
mained big  enough  to  subdivide,  and  resulted  in 
very  general  dislocation  all  over  the  country. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  that  this  theory,  when 
put  in  practice  in  a  state  of  any  considerable 
size,  would  encounter  many  difficulties.  It  took 
no  account  of  that  strong  attachment  to  their 
particular  bit  of  native  soil  that  is  so  dominant 
a  trait  in  all  peoples,  especially  those  engaged 
in  agriculture,  and  which  makes  them  prefer  a 
poorer  piece  of  ground  upon  which  they  have 
grown  up  to  a  far  better  one  that  is  strange. 
From  the  first,  therefore,  the  rearrangements 
following  the  death  of  each  prince  were  vigor- 
ously opposed,  and  the  attempt  was  constantly 
made  to  substitute  primogeniture  for  seniority, 
as  the  basis  of  succession.  The  influence  of 
the  Church  as  well  as  of  the  German  political 


22     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

system,  was,  of  course,  in  this  direction,  and 
neither  side  ever  lacked  for  champions  ready 
to  take  up  arms  in  its  defense.  The  result  was 
unceasing  civil  war,  from  one  end  of  the  country 
to  the  other. 

In  Russia  it  resulted  in  such  weakness  that 
the  princes  were  unable  to  defend  themselves 
against  the  attacks  of  the  savage  Polovstui  on 
their  southeastern  frontier,  and  were  obliged 
to  abandon  their  territories,  including  their 
capital,  Kiev,  the  ** mother  of  Russian  cities," 
with  all  its  splendors  and  its  traditions,  to  the 
barbarians,  and  to  emigrate  far  to  the  north- 
east and  to  the  southwest,  and  there,  in  better 
protected  regions,  to  begin  a  new  political  life. 

In  Poland  the  anarchy  lasted  two  hundred 
years,  from  the  death  of  Boleslaus  III  in 
^»  1 139,  until  Wladislaus  Lokietek  (1319-1333)  es- 
tablished once  more  the  unity  of  the  monarchy. 
During  those  two  hundred  years  events  of  far- 
reaching  importance  had  taken  place.  As  has 
been  said  above,  when  Boleslaus  III  died,  he 
left  his  kingdom  divided  among  his  four  sons. 
Wladislaus,  the  eldest,  had  Cracow,  now  the 
capital  of  the  country,  Little  Poland,  Silesia, 
and  Pomerania.  To  Boleslaus  he  left  Masovia 
and  Cujavia.  To  Mieczyslaw  Great  Poland, 
and  to  Henry,  his  fourth  son,  Sandomir.   The 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS     23 

youngest  son,  Casimir,  received  nothing  from 
his  father,  but  at  the  death  of  his  brother, 
Henry,  a  few  years  later,  he  succeeded  to  San- 
domir.  .   ^ 

Wladislaus  II  was  not  at  all  content  with  his 
partial  sovereignty.  His  wife,  Agnes,  a  Ger- 
man, ambitious,  and  unsympathetic  with  Polish 
ways,  desired  to  introduce  the  German  feudal 
system,  and  she  urged  her  husband  to  dispos- 
sess his  brothers  and  rule  alone  over  a  great 
kingdom  as  his  father  had  done.  As  Wladis- 
laus was  much  older  than  his  brothers,  being  a 
man  of  thirty,  while  they  were  all  three  chil- 
dren under  twelve,  it  seemed  not  a  difficult 
thing  to  do.  The  nobles  and  clergy,  however, 
whose  powers  were  far  greater  in  a  divided  weak 
state  than  in  a  strong,  united  one,  rallied  to 
the  support  of  the  minor  brothers,  and  a  long 
civil  war  followed,  in  which  finally  Wladislaus 
was  not  only  defeated  but  driven  from  his  own 
possessions.  He  and  his  wife  also  were  excom- 
municated by  the  Pope,  because  they  had  used 
barbarian  and  Russian  troops  against  their  own 
people.  Wladislaus  went  to  Germany,  got  the 
assistance  of  the  Emperor,  Frederick  Barba- 
rossa,  who  accompanied  him  back  to  Poland  at 
the  head  of  an  Imperial  army,  and  attempted 
to  reseat  Wladislaus  on  his  throne.    But  the 


24     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

expedition  did   not   accomplish   its   purpose. 

^Some  years  after,  Boleslaus  IV,  who  had  taken 
the  throne  after  the  exile  of  his  brother,  made 
a  treaty  by  which  the  sons  of  Wladislaus  were 
allowed  to  take  possession  of  Silesia  (which,  as 
stated  above,  formed  part  of  the  share  of  the 
kingdom  which  Boleslaus  III  had  given  to 
their  father)  on  condition  of  renouncing  all 
claim  to  the  throne  of  Cracow.  This  line  of 
princes,  feeling  themselves  unjustly  excluded 
from  their  rights  by  the  Poles,  and  closely  con- 
nected with  Germany  by  marriage  and  other 
association,  gradually  became  Germanized  and 
alienated  from  Poland.  Silesia  became  known 
as  a  German  province,  with  distinctly  German 
interests,  long  before  its  separation  from  Poland 
was  officially  recognized  in  1340.  It  is  only  in 
the  last  fifty  years,  since  1870,  that  there  has 
come  about  a  revival  of  Polish  nationalism  in 
this  province. 

After  the  death  of  Boleslaus,  his  son,  Leszek, 
inherited  Masovia  and  Cujavia,  but  Boleslaus*s 

^  brother,  Mieczyslaw  III,  took  the  throne  of 
Cracow.  He  tried  to  restore  the  royal  power,  but 
only  succeeded  in  making  himself  so  unpopular 
by  his  tyranny  that  he  was  driven  out  by  the 
nobles  and  clergy,  who  made  his  brother,  Casi- 
mir,  the  youngest  of  the  sons  of  Boleslaus  III, 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS     25 

ruler  in  his  place.  By  the  death  within  a  few 
years  of  his  nephew,  Leszek,  son  of  Boleslaus 
IV,  Casimir  came  into  possession  of  Masovia 
and  Cujavia,  and  thus  ruled  over  a  far  larger 
territory  than  any  of  his  brothers.  Two  senior, 
lines,  that  of  Wladislaus  II  and  that  of  Mieczys-^ 
law  III,  were  thus  excluded  from  the  throne, 
and  for  a  long  period  of  years  constantly  dis- 
puted the  succession  with  the  descendants  of 
Casimir,  sometimes  successfully,  sometimes 
not.  But  in  the  main  the  line  of  Casimir  re- 
mained the  dominant  one,  probably  because  it 
was  supported  by  the  clergy,  who,  during  all 
this  period,  were  growing  strong  just  in  propor- 
tion as  the  princely  power  grew  weak.  The 
active  part  played  by  the  clergy  in  political 
affairs,  with  the  very  important  privileges  and 
immunities  for  their  order  which  resulted  from 
it,  is  indeed  the  great  outstanding  character- 
istic of  this  period.  It  was  through  the  Church 
that  there  came  into  Poland  those  Western 
and  German  elements  which,  during  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  destroyed  the 
primitive  organization  of  the  Polish  state,  and 
transformed  the  life  of  the  Polish  people.  It  is 
therefore  necessary  to  consider  the  position  of 
the  Church  in  some  detail. 

The  great  reform  in  the  Roman  Catholic 


1^ 


26     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

Church  started  by  the  monk  Hildebrand,  after- 
wards Pope  Gregory  VII,  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  eleventh  century,  had  transformed  the 
inner  life  of  the  Church  in  western  Europe,  and 
had  also  greatly  strengthened  its  external  posi- 
tion. Hildebrand 's  theory  of  the  Church  was 
that  it  was  the  representative  of  God's  power 
I  on  earth,  and  therefore  the  spiritual  ruler  of  the 
\  world,  supreme  over  kings  as  over  the  humblest 
of  their  subjects.  To  make  this  theory  a  real- 
ity, he  saw  it  was  necessary  first  to  reform  the 
clergy,  to  make  them  able,  eager,  and  devoted 
workers  in  the  cause,  showing  in  their  lives  as 
in  their  words  the  power  of  the  life  of  the  spirit ; 
and  secondly,  to  acquire  such  governmental 
powers  for  the  Church  that  she  should  be 
practically  independent  of  the  state,  should 
form,  indeed,  a  little  state  within  the  state, 
with  her  own  law,  her  own  courts,  her  own 
sources  of  revenue,  and  with  the  power  of 
this  independence  should  be  able  to  curb  the 
savage  passions  and  hold  in  check  the  rapac- 
ity, the  lawlessness,  and  the  cruelty  of  the 
mediaeval  princes. 

It  was  a  great  ideal,  and  perhaps  it  is  needless 
to  say  that  it  was  never  completely  realized. 
But  it  came  near  enough  to  success  to  make  the 
Church  very  powerful,  greatly  to  raise   the 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      27 

whole  level  of  the  clerical  life,  and  to  produce 
not  a  few  saints  and  martyrs  whose  holy  lives 
burned  like  beacons  in  the  darkness  of  a  vio- 
lent and  barbarous  world. 

It  was  not  until  the  end  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, nearly  a  hundred  years  after  their  intro- 
duction to  western  Europe,  that  the  influence^ 
of  these  reforms  reached  Poland.  At  that  time 
Poland  had  a  married  clergy,  the  churches  were 
the  hereditary  property  of  the  priests,  and  the 
state  had  entire  legal  and  governmental  con- 
trol over  the  clergy  as  over  all  other  parts  of 
the  population.  Pope  Innocent  III,  the  great- 
est of  all  the  champions  of  papal  and  clerical 
power,  was  much  interested  in  Poland,  and 
took  active  and  energetic  steps  to  bring  the 
Polish  Church  into  line  with  the  rest  of  West- 
em  Christendom.  The  political  disorder  in 
Poland,  just  at  the  time  when  his  attention 
was  turned  toward  her,  offered  him  a  unique 
opportunity.  He  found  the  German  clergy 
very  ready  to  help,  and  the  Polish  clergy, 
though  they  opposed  the  papal  ideas  at  first, 
came  later  to  understand  the  Pope's  purpose, 
saw  its  advantages  for  them,  and  cooperated 
gladly.  The  religious  feeling,  so  characteristic 
of  the  age  in  western  Europe,  also  showed  it- 
self in  Poland,  in  the  response  of  princes  and 


28     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

people  to  the  quickened  zeal  and  the  new  de- 
mands of  the  Church.  It  resulted,  not  only  in 
the  foundation  of  schools  and  monasteries  and 
the  endowment  of  churches,  but  also  in  the 
granting  by  all  the  princes  of  countless  im- 
munities to  the  clergy  in  their  duchies.  **Be^ 
cause  a  house  dedicated  to  the  highest  God\ 
must  not  be  subject  to  the  laws  of  earthly 
princes,**  was  the  beginning  of  many  a  docu^ 
ment  in  which  twelfth  and  thirteenth  century 
princes  freed  great  religious  foundations  from 
dependence  on  themselves.  And  not  infre- 
quently they  closed  with  these  or  similar  sig- 
nificant words:  "This  is  done  for  the  salvation 
of  our  own  souls  and  of  the  souls  of  our  fore- 
fathers." 

/     By   1250    by  far  the  greater  part  of  the 
/clergy    were    subject    exclusively    to    clerical 
[  courts,  were  freed  from  the  dues  and  services 
which  they  had  previously  paid  to  their  princes, 
and  the  beneficed  clergy  had  the  right  to  hold 
courts  for  the  peasantry  who  lived  and  worked 
on  their  estates.    The  election  of  bishops  and 
abbots  also,  and   the  conferring  of  benefices, 
formerly  in  the  hands  of  the  king,  were  now  en- 
tirely in  the  hands  of  the  clergy.   The  Church 
/  was  thus  practically  free  from  all  kingly  or 
[  princely  government.    This  system  of  immu- 


THE   ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      29 

nity  was  a  German  practice,  and  its  introduc- 
tion into  Poland  was  the  first  break  in  the  old 
Polish  constitution,  by  which  the  king  ruled, 
and  ruled  directly,  all  classes  of  his  people. 

German  colonization  was  another  element  j 
which  brought  about  great  changes  in  the  con-  j 
stitution.    All  during  this  and  succeeding  pe- 
riods German  colonization  of  the  Polish  lands 
was  going  steadily  on.   Quietly  and  without  os- 
tentation a  steady  stream  of  immigrants  flowed 
across  the  border,  settled  in  Polish  territory, 
and  began  to  live  there  their  essentially  Ger- 
man lives.    Sometimes  the  stream  was  swollen, 
sometimes  it  ran  almost  dry,  but  it  never  com- 
pletely stopped,  and  its  existence  is  one  of  the 
factors  of  first  importance  in  Polish  history/ 
Among  these  colonists  the  clergy  were  always 
numerous,  and  they  were  among  the  first  tol 
encourage  colonization  and  to  profit  by  it  in  I 
other  classes.  The  monasteries  in  Poland  were 
very  largely  branch  houses.   Many  of  them  ac- 
cepted only  Germans;  others  only  a  minority 
of  Poles;  while  among  the  secular  clergy,  and 
also  in  the  schools,  Germans  were  very  numer- 
ous.  They  used  their  influence  to  get  German 
peasants  to  come  and  settle  on  their  lands,  and 
the  excellent  terms  which  they  offered  —  per- 
sonal freedom,  hereditary  right  to  their  lands. 


30    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

no  dues  for  the  first  few  years,  and  very  moder- 
ate ones  thereafter  —  made  the  German  peas- 
ants eager  to  come.  The  princes,  seeing  that 
they  were  good  colonists,  welcomed  them ;  and 
partly  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  partly  be- 
cause the  colonists  demanded  it,  allowed  them 
to  live  under  German  law.  By  1240  their  posi- 
tion in  the  country  was  well  established. 
I  The  invasion  of  the  Mongols  or  Tartars  in 
Ithe  year  1240  made  the  need  for  colonists  much 
(greater.  Batu  and  his  Tartar  Horde  swept 
across  the  steppe,  across  Russia,  into  Poland, 
and  down  into  Hungary,  where  a  great  battle 
was  fought,  in  which  the  Tartars  were  not  in- 
deed defeated,  but  were  obliged  to  pay  so  dear 
for  victory  that  they  retired  from  Poland  as 
well  as  from  Hungary.  They  left  behind  them 
a  devastated  country,  ruined  towns,  and  a  pop- 
ulation so  diminshed  that  colonists  were  a  ne- 
cessity if  the  life  of  the  country  was  to  go  on. 
The  princes  in  this  crisis  turned  to  the  Ger- 
mans and  offered  them  practically  their  own 
terms  if  they  would  come  to  Poland.  These 
terms  were,  self-government,  freedom  from 
taxation,  and  in  most  cases  from  military  serv- 
ice. In  return,  the  German  colonists  built  up 
strong,  rich  towns,  better  in  every  way  than 
Poland  had  ever  had  before.    These  colonists 


!/ 

1 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      31 

soon  came  to  form,  as  they  had  formed  at 
home,  a  wealthy  middle  class,  which  Poland 
had  never  had,  which  she  had  greatly  needed, 
and  which  was  of  the  greatest  value  to  her  in 
counteracting  the  influence  of  the  nobles  and 
establishing  new  standards  of  comfort  and 
economic  efficiency. 

The  nobles,  for  obvious  reasons,  disliked  the 
immunities  of  the  Germans,  and  were  slow  t 
bring  German  peasants  onto  their  estates ;  bu 
they  saw  the  advantages  of  immunity  for  them- 
selves, and  began  to  demand  it.  As  the  princes^ 
were  poor,  very  numerous,  and  hopelessly  at 
odds  with  one  another,  they  were  dependent 
upon  their  nobles,  and  the  "barons,"  or  more 
powerful  of  the  nobles,  were  thus  in  a  position 
to  make  demands  which  the  prince  could  not 
well  refuse.  The  result  was  that  they  too  freed 
themselves  from  dues  and  public  services,  such 
as  the  building  of  castles  and  roads,  the  repair 
of  bridges,  and  from  the  jurisdiction  of  all  the 
royal  officials.  Sometimes  they  were  even  ex- 
empted from  military  service.  Quite  generally 
they  got  the  exclusive  right  to  hold  courts  for 
the  peasants  living  on  their  estates,  which  was 
the  most  remunerative  of  all  these  privileges. 
In  granting  these  immunities  the  princes  made 
some  exceptions.    In  case  of  invasion  by  the 


32     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

barbarians,  exemption  from  military  service 
did  not  hold,  nor  did  the  exemption  from  taxes 
and  dues  in  times  of  great  and  exceptional  pub- 
lic need.  Often,  also,  in  granting  jurisdictions, 
the  prince  kept  the  ultimate  power  of  life  and 
death  in  his  own  hands,  and  reserved  the  right 
to  summon  the  nobles  before  him  in  person,  even 
when  he  freed  them  from  the  jurisdiction  of  his 
officials. 

The  net  result  of  all  this  was  that  by  the  end 
of  the  thirteenth  century  the  higher  clergy  and 
the  richer  and  more  powerful  nobles  had  very 
largely  passed  from  under  the  king*s  control, 
and  were  practically  free  from  the  burdens  of 
public  service  and  of  taxation.  This  meant  a 
corresponding  depression  of  the  szlachta  and 
kmeten  classes,  upon  whom,  quite  contrary  to 
the  old  law  and  custom,  the  whole  public  burden 
now  fell.  Nor  was  this  all.  During  this  same 
period  the  higher  nobles  and  clergy  had  become 
the  most  powerful  factors  in  the  government 
of  the  kingdom  and  the  king  had  assumed 
quite  a  secondary  place. 

It  was  during  the  struggle  between  Mieczys- 
7  law  III  and  the  party  that  supported   Casi- 
mir  that  the  foundations  of  aristocratic  gov- 
ernment were  laid.  As  soon  as  he  was  on  the 
throne,  Casimir  called  a  synod  or  general  assem- 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS     33 

bly  of  the  bishops  of  the  kingdom  and  this  as- 
sembly promulgated  decrees,  on  the  one  hand 
against  the  plundering  of  the  poor  peasants 
which   h^d   been   so  grievous   an   evil   under 


men  nac 
leczysla'^ 


Mieczyslaw  III,  and  on  the  other  against  the 
seizure  by  the  princes  of  the  land  of  ecclesias- 
tics after  their  death.  Casimir  also  created  a 
permanent  advisory  council  or  senate,  composed 
of  the  richer  and  more  powerful  nobles  and  the 
higher  clergy,  which  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
took  to  itself  many  of  the  powers  of  the  King. 
They  did  not  hesitate  to  threaten  deposition  — 
at  one  time  they  even  negotiated  with  the  de- 
throned Mieczyslaw  III  —  when  Casimir  did 
anything  without  their  advice  or  against  their 
will.  After  the  death  of  Casimir,  it  was  the 
Senate  which  chose  his  son,  Leszek  the  White, 
as  his  successor,  using  the  opportunity  to  pro- 
claim that  the  legality  of  the  Senate's  choice 
was  quite  independent  of  the  sanction  of  either 
Emperor  or  Pope;  and  although  his  claim  was 
hotly  contested  by  Mieczyslaw  III  in  a  long 
civil  war,  yet  in  the  end  Leszek  retained  the 
kingship  and  thus  vindicated  the  power  of  the 
Senate. 

During  the  reign  of  Leszek  the  White,  Pom- 
erania  became  an  independent  duchy  and  the-^ 
Teutonic  Knights  settled  in  Masovia,  the  latter 


34    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

an  event  of  sinister  and  far-reaching  importance 
in  Polish  history  because  the  power  was  thus 
estabHshed  which  was  finally  to  cut  Poland  off 
from  her  Baltic  seaboard,  thus  altering  and 
impoverishing  her  whole  future. 

Boleslaus  III  had  ruled  on  the  Baltic  coast 
from  the  island  of  Riigen  to  Konigsberg,  in- 
cluding the  mouths  of  the  three  rivers,  Oder, 
Vistula,  and  Pregel.  Under  Boleslaus  IV,  the 
Germans  conquered  to  the  Oder.  Shortly  after, 
Casimir  the  Just  gave  the  country  about  the 
mouth  of  the  Oder  to  the  princes  of  the  country 
and  allowed  them  to  take  the  title  of  Dukes  of 
Pomerania.  The  rest  of  the  country  —  that 
is,  the  Vistula  region  and  Danzig  —  he  ruled 
directly  through  governors.  Both  governor  and 
dukes  united  against  the  Danes,  who  coveted 
the  country  and  after  a  time  succeeded  in  seiz- 
ing Danzig.  The  Poles  neglected  to  send  help 
at  this  critical  moment,  and  the  Pomeranians, 
thrown  back  on  themselves,  chose  as  their  gov- 
ernor a  Pomeranian,  Sventopolk,  who  drove 
out  the  Danes  and  took  Danzig.  Leszek  con- 
firmed him  in  his  governorship,  but  Svento- 
polk was  not  satisfied.  He  wanted  to  be  inde- 
pendent. Some  of  the  Polish  princes  favored 
his  pretensions,  but  Leszek  would  not  consent 
to  it  and  called  the  Council  in  order  to  lay  the 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      35 

matter  before  it.     Sventopolk    came  to  the 
Council,  kidnaped  Leszek,  carried  him  off  on 
his  horse  to  a  lonely  place,  and  killed  him ;  and , 
as  a  result,  the  Council  gave  him  his  title  of 
Duke  of  Pomerania  and  Danzig ! 

Conrad,  the  younger  brother  of  Leszek,  was 
Duke  of  Masovia,  and,  on  account  of  the  posi- 
tion of  his  duchy,  it  was  upon  him  that  there 
fell  the  brunt  of  the  task  of  beating  off  the  con- 
stant attacks  of  the  savage  heathen  tribes  — 
the  Prussians  and  Lithuanians  and  kindred 
peoples  —  to  the  northeast,  who  took  advan- 
tage of  the  weakness  of  Poland  in  the  early 
thirteenth  century  to  push  forward  with  special 
vigor.  Conrad,  a  violent,  passionate  nature,  in 
a  moment  of  rage  had  killed  with  his  own  hand 
his  Palatine  Kristian,  who  had  spent  his  life 
fighting  against  the  Prussians  and  had  become 
a  terror  to  these  savages.  After  his  death,  Con- 
rad could  find  no  one  to  fill  his  place,  and  the 
Prussians  invaded,  pillaged,  and  occupied  at 
will  the  border  districts  of  Masovia.  To  get  rid 
of  them  Conrad  had  to  buy  them  off,  and  was 
obliged  to  tax  his  people  exorbitantly  for  the 
purpose.  They  were  obliged  to  give  their  fur 
coats  and  other  clothes  as  taxes,  since  it  was 
these  articles  that  the  Prussians  especially 
wanted.    Even  this  sufficed  only  temporarily, 


36    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

and  Conrad,  at  his  wits*  end,  finally  sought  help 
from  the  Teutonic  Knights. 
I  y  The  Order  of  the  Teutonic  Knights  came  into 
"existence  during  the  Third  Crusade  with  the 
founding  by  some  benevolent  German  mer- 
chants from  Lubeck  and  Bremen  of  a  hospital 
for  the  Crusaders  in  Acre.  Later  the  hospital 
became  attached  to  the  German  Church  of  St. 
Mary  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  1198  the  Brethren 
of  the  Hospital  of  St.  Mary  were  made  into  an 
order  of  knights  and  the  rule  was  established 
that  henceforth  only  Germans  of  noble  birth 
could  become  brethren  of  the  Order.  They 
lived  a  semi-monastic  life  under  the  rule  of  St. 
Augustine,  and  their  duties  were  to  fight,  to 
convert  the  heathen,  and  to  care  for  the  sick  — 
with  the  emphasis  in  practice  distinctly  on  the 
fighting.  After  the  Crusades  were  over  it  was  a 
little  difficult  to  find  a  place  for  these  turbulent 
soldiers  of  the  Cross.  They  had  gone  to  Hun- 
gary in  121 1  to  help  the  king  fight  the  Comans, 
but  had  been  turned  out  of  the  country  as  a  re- 
sult of  trying  to  make  themselves  independent 
rulers  of  Transylvania.  It  was  then  that  the 
Duke  of  Masovia  invited  the  Knights  to  come 
to  his  aid,  offering  them  the  district  of  Kulm 
and  freedom  to  conquer  what  else  they  could  at 
the  expense  of  the  Prussians.   All  they  needed 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      37 

was  the  opportunity.  By  1260  they  had  con- 
quered the  whole  east  bank  of  the  Vistula  from 
Kulm  to  the  coast  and  the  Baltic  coast  from 
the  Vistula  to  Konigsberg.  By  the  union  with 
them  in  1237  of  the  Knights  of  the  Sword,  an 
order  similar  to  their  own,  which  had  been 
founded  in  1201  to  conquer  and  Christianize 
the  eastern  Baltic  coast,  they  added  Livonia 
and  Courland  to  their  possessions  and  were 
thus  in  control  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Baltic 
seaboard.  During  the  fourteenth  century  they 
went  farther,  conquered  the  Lithuanian  prov- 
ince of  Samogitia  and  then  turned  their  arms 
against  the  Poles,  from  whom  they  conquered 
Pomerellen,  or  Pomerania  east  of  the  Oder,  in- 
cluding the  great  Polish  port  of  Danzig.  Sup- 
ported by  the  Pope  (to  whom  in  1234  ^^e  Or- 
der had  given  its  territories  and  received  them 
back  in  fief,  thus  freeing  themselves  from  lay 
control)  and  constantly  reinforced  by  the  pick 
of  the  German  military  nobility,  the  Order  be- 
came a  serious  menace  to  Polish  independence. 
Thus,  both  within  and  without,  the  German- 
ization  of  Poland  went  on  and,  added  to  dis- 
union and  weakness,  made  the  destruction  of 
the  Polish  state  seem  a  matter  of  only  a  little 
time.  The  long  reign  of  Boleslaus  V,  son  of 
Leszek  the  White,  and  of  his  son,  Leszek  the 


38     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Black,  marked  the  lowest  point  in  the  degrada- 
tion of  Poland,  and  during  the  extraordinary 
confusion  that  followed  the  death  of  the  latter — 
extraordinary  even  for  Poland  in  this  period  — 
Waclaw,  King  of  Bohemia,  took  possession  of 
the  kingship  and  held  it  for  six  years  (1300- 
1306).  Many  of  the  Polish  princes  supported 
him  as  the  only  hope  of  uniting  and  saving  their 
unhappy  country,  where  violence  was  the  ordi- 
nary way  of  life  in  times  of  nominal  peace  as 
well  p,s  in  times  of  war;  where  privileges  were 
constantly  assumed  and  responsibilities  and 
duties  abandoned  without  any  kind  of  legal 
sanction,  and  only  might  was  right.  Many  of 
the  lesser  nobles  lost  land  and  freedom  quite 
arbitrarily  during  this  time,  while  the  peasants 
were  so  badly  treated  by  both  nobles  and  offi- 
cials that  in  some  regions  whole  communities 
fled  to  the  woods  and  became  bandits  and  rob- 
bers. Waclaw  took  the  first  necessary  steps  to- 
ward the  restoration  of  order,  and  this  task  was 
carried  further  and  Poland  finally  reunited  by 
Wladislaus  I,  called  Lokietek,  or  **  Long-Span," 
who  was  crowned  king  in  1320. 

3.  1320-1386 

Wladislaus  Lokietek,  Duke  of  Cujavia,  and 
brother  of  Leszek  the  Black,  had  been  recog- 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      39 

nized  as  king  in  his  own  duchy  in  1306,  but  had 
later  been  deposed  in  favor  of  Waclaw  of  Bo- 
hemia. But  after  the  death  of  Waclaw,  he  was 
recalled,  having  in  the  mean  time  won  the  grati- 
tude of  the  whole  country  and  proved  his  ability 
as  well  as  his  patriotism  by  a  victory  over  the 
Teutonic  Knights.  The  assassination  of  Prze- 
mislaus  II,  the  last  representative  of  the  line  of 
Mieczyslaw  III,  had  removed  all  rivals  to  the 
claims  of  Wladislaus  to  the  whole  kingdom  of 
the  Piasts,  which  he  united  once  more  into  a 
single  sovereignty,  with,  however,  some  im- 
portant exceptions.  Silesia  was  held  by  Bo- 
hemia with  the  consent  of  its  princes,  Masovia 
was  ruled  by  its  own  duke,  and  Pomerania  was 
in  the  possession  of  the  Knights.  Not  since 
Boleslaus  III,  however,  had  any  Polish  prince 
ruled  so  many  provinces,  and  the  satisfaction 
of  the  country  was  expressed  by  the  solemn 
crowning  of  Wladislaus  at  Cracow  by  the  Met- 
ropolitan Bishop  of  Gnesen.  The  ceremonial 
observed  on  this  occasion  became  the  custom  for 
the  coronation  of  all  succeeding  Polish  kings. 

Recognition  by  the  Pope  gave  Wladislaus 
the  support  of  the  clergy,  and  he  had  also  the 
support  of  the  mass  of  his  people  in  the  great 
task  of  cementing  this  formal  union  by  internal 
regeneration  and  by  united  opposition  to  the 


40    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

foes  that  menaced  it  from  without.  Wladislaus 
encouraged  in  every  way  the  revival  of  order 
and  prosperity  in  his  kingdom.  He  cleared  the 
highways  of  brigands,  and  in  a  tour  through  the 
country  he  made  a  beginning,  at  least,  of  the 
great  task  of  abolishing  privilege  and  restoring 
the  supremacy  of  the  Polish  law.  He  did  not, 
indeed,  attempt  to  take  away  the  German  law 
from  those  communities  to  whom  its  use  had 
been  legally  granted,  but  all  immunities  as- 
sumed without  sanction  during  the  period  of 
disorder  had  to  be  given  up  and  the  persons 
concerned  returned  to  their  former  status  under 
Polish  law.  Irrespective  of  what  the  previous 
arrangement  had  been,  the  King  now  took  to 
himself  the  sole  right  of  holding  the  highest 
courts  for  both  laws. 

In  1 33 1  the  King  called  at  Chenciny  an 
assembly  which  may  be  considered  the  first 
Polish  Diet.  It  was  composed  of  Senators, 
Chancellors  from  each  duchy,  members  of  the 
local  magistracies,  and  the  nobles.  At  the  Diet 
of  Chenciny  the  King  for  the  first  time  ad- 
mitted all  the  nobles  —  not  merely,  as  hereto- 
fore, the  higher  nobles  and  clergy  composing 
the  Senate  —  to  a  share  in  his  counsels.  From 
this  time  on  their  powers  grew  steadily  and  after 
1370  very  rapidly.  The  distinctions  between  the 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      41 

kmetens,  who  had  no  voice  in  the  government, 
and  the  szlachta,  all  of  whom  had^  became  sharp. 
At  the  same  time  also  the  distinctions  between 
the  greater  nobles,  who  alone  were  eligible  to 
the  Senate  and  to  other  places  in  the  public 
service,  and  the  szlachtay  or  lesser  nobles,  also 
grew  sharper. 

The  nobles,  or  equestrian  order,  formed  the 
main  army  of  the  country,  other  classes  serving 
only  when  invasion  or  special  need  demanded 
it,  and  many  of  the  greater  nobles  led  whole 
detachments  to  war  under  their  own  armorial 
banners,  thus  usurping  the  war  functions  of 
the  king's  officials,  the  castellans  and  palatines, 
even  as  in  peace  they  had  usurped  their  juris- 
dictions. 

Commerce  revived  rapidly  as  order  and  se- 
curity increased.  The  German  burghers  made 
the  most  of  the  opportunities  that  the  situ- 
ation of  the  Polish  cities  offered  for  trade. 
Cracow,  especially,  at  the  junction  of  great  over- 
land trade  routes,  soon  became  the  center  of 
an  enormous  transit  trade.  A  great  highway 
from  the  south  brought  the  products  of  Hun- 
gary and  the  Near  East  through  the  passes  of  the 
mountains  into  Cracow  on  their  way  north  to 
Thorn,  Stettin,  and  Danzig,  whence  ships  car- 
ried them  to  Flanders  and  England.    Cracow 


42     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

also  lay  midway  on  the  great  road  that  led 
from  the  Black  Sea  and  the  South  Russian 
ports  to  Breslau,  Prague,  and  the  western 
European  capitals.  Both  Cracow  and  Danzig 
(now  in  the  hands  of  the  Teutonic  Knights) 
were  members  of  the  Hanseatic  League  and  had 
thus  every  facility  for  using  their  trading  op- 
portunities. The  rich  merchants  of  Cracow  be- 
came powerful  enough  to  get  a  law  enacted 
enabling  them  to  buy  land  and  thus  to  become 
nobles.  Trade  along  the  Vistula  was  also  build- 
ing up  the  Masovian  towns,  and  Warsaw  began 
in  the  early  fourteenth  century  to  be  a  town 
of  some  importance. 
/  During  the  whole  of  the  reign  of  Wladislaus 
Lokietek  the>  Teutonic  Knights  kept  up  a  con- 
stant and  menacing  pressure  on  his  frontiers. 
A  victory  over  them  which  the  King  won  in 
1332,  however,  kept  them  from  further  en- 
croachment on  Polish  land  and  showed  the 
Poles  that  the  Order  was  not  invincible. 

But  the  Knights  were  not  Poland *s  only 
enemy.  The  King  of  Bohemia  claimed  the 
Polish  throne  as  the  successor  of  Waclaw,  and 
carried  on  almost  constant  warfare  on  the 
southern  border,  while  on  the  northeast  the 
vigorous  young  Lithuanian  state  was  becoming 
a  dangerous  neighbor. 


THE  ERA  OF   BEGINNINGS     43 

The  rise  of  Lithuania  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable of  historical  phenomena.   The  Lith- 
uanians, a  people   of  the  same   race  as  the 
Prussians,  had  dwelt  for  centuries  among  the 
swamps  and  forests  of  the  upper  Niemen,  se- 
cure in  their  independence  and  their  paganism. 
They  had  lived  a  separate,  loosely  organized 
tribal  existence.    The  coming  of  the  Teutonic  / 
Knights,  their  conquest  of  the  Prussians,  andv' 
espe€i$illy  their  absorption  of  the  Knights  of%/ 
the  Sword  and  the  resulting  annexation  of  al-  ^ 
most  the  whole  Baltic  coast,  had  roused  the 
Lithuanians  to  a  sense  of  their  own  danger. 
Under  able  leaders  the  scattered  tribes  threw 
off  the  habits  of  centuries  and  united  to  form  a  ^ 
vigorous  and  warlike  nation  and  created  a  state  J 
which  during  the  next  hundred  years  became 
by  its  conquests  a  vast  empire  and  the  greatest 
political  force  in  central  Europe. 

Mendovg,  the  first  of  the  great  Lithuanian 
princes,  ruled  from  1240  to  1263,  just  when  the 
Tartar  invasions  were  weakening  Poland  and 
Russia.  As  Lithuania  was  not  invaded  by  the 
Tartars,  she  was  able  to  derive  advantage  from 
the  misfortunes  of  her  neighbors  and  to  conquer  / 
from  Russia  great  slices  of  her  western  terri- 
tories. A  century  later,  at  the  death  of  Gedy- 
min  (1315-1341),  another  of  her  great  rulers, 


44    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

the  Grand  Duchy  of  Lithuania  extended  from 

^  Courland  to  the  Carpathians  and  from  the  Bug 
to  the  river  Desna,  comprising  Black,  White, 
and  Little  Russia,  including  the  great  Dnieper 
Valley  and  Kiev. 

The  great  West  Russian  provinces,  weak  and 
disorganized  by  the  Tartar  invasions,  offered 

J  little  resistance  to  the  Lithuanians,  who  oc- 
cupied the  territories  gradually,  and  generally 
without  violence,  restored  order,  and  appointed 
princes  of  great  Lithuanian  families  as  their 
governors.   The  Lithuanians,  pagans  and  bar- 

/  barians,  were  thus  brought  into  close  contact 
with  Christianity  and  with  a  civilization  far 
older  and  more  advanced  than  their  own.  Many 
of  the  princes  were  converted  to  Christianity 
by  the  Russians,  some  of  them  married  Russian 
princesses  of  former  reigning  houses,  and  very 

s)    generally  they  adopted  the  habits  of  life  and  in 

general  the  civilization  of  the  Russians.    The 

\i  dialect  of  White  Russia  became  the  language  of 

the  court  and  remained  so  until  the  seventeenth 

century. 

Gedymin  never  became  a  Christian.  He  could 
never  bring  himself  to  accept  a  religion  in  whose 
name  the  Teutonic  Knights,  the  bitterest  ene- 
mies of  his  country,  fought  and  killed  his  people. 
But  his  sons  and  most  of  his  people  adopted 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS      45 

the  Christianity  of  the  Russians,  which  was 
that  of  the  Eastern  or  Greek  Orthodox  Church. 
Olgierd,  his  successor,  was  baptized  into  the 
Greek  Church  on  his  marriage  with  a  princess 
of  Vitebsk,  but  his  Christianity  was  more  po- 
litical than  spiritual,  as  is  seen  by  the  fact  that 
though  in  the  Russian  Christian  parts  of  his 
kingdom  he  was  a  Christian,  in  Lithuania 
proper  he  sacrificed  to  the  old  pagan  gods  of 
his  forefathers  and  by  his  own  wish  was  buried 
with  full  pagan  rites. 

Though  at  first  hostile  to  Lithuania,  the 
Poles  soon  recognized  her  value  as  an  ally,  and 
Wladislaus  Lokietek  in  1325  made  a  treaty  with  \^ 
her  against  their  common  enemy,  the  Teutonic 
Order.  This  alliance  was  of  great  value  to  Po- 
land, still  far  from  strong  or  really  united,  and 
is  interesting  also  as  the  beginning  of  the  far 
closer  union  of  the  two  states  sixty  years  later. 

When  Wladislaus  Lokietek  died,  he  left  to 
his  son  and  successor,  Casimir  III,  known  as  ^ 
**the  Great,"  a  kingdom  in  which  the  worst 
forms,  at  least,  of  internal  disorder  were  fast 
disappearing,  and  whose  commerce  and  wealth 
were  growing  rapidly,  but  whose  external  re- 
lations were  precarious.  The  King  of  Bohemia 
still  claimed  the  throne  of  Poland.  Masovia, 
jealous  of  its  independence,  was  hostile,  uniting 


46     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

sometimes  with  Bohemia  and  sometimes  with 
the  Teutonic  Knights,  whom  Wladislaus  Lokie- 
tek  had  spent  his  Hfe  in  fighting  and  whose  pos- 
session of  Pomerania  he  regarded  as  the  most 
serious  menace  to  his  kingdom.  His  deathbed 
instructions  to  his  son  charged  him  to  make  the 
recovery  of  Pomerania  his  first  durt:y,  but  Casi- 
mir  did  not  follow  this  advice.  Aie  was  not  a 
fighter  like  his  father,  but  a  statesman  who 
desired  by  peace  to  heal  Poland's  wounds,  by 
wise  legislation  to  restore  order  and  prosper- 
ity, and  by  diplomacy  and  foreign  alliances  to 
bring  her  out  of  her  isolation  and  into  intimate 
and  rejected  relations  with  other  European 
states^Only  thus  he  believed  could  the  integ- 
rity of  Poland  be  preserved.  He  saw  that  the 
long  wars  of  his  father  had  barely  held  his  foes 
at  bay.  He  preferred  to  lose  what  territory  he 
must  in  order  to  be  sure  of  what  was  left,  and  in 
pursuance  of  this  policy  he  gave  up  to  Bohemia 
all  claims  on  Silesia  for  himself  and  his  succes- 
sors, accepting  in  return  the  King  of  Bohemia's 
renunciation  of  all  claim  to  the  Polish  throne.  \f^ 

With  the  Knights  also  he  made  a  treaty  by 
which  he  acknowledged  their  claims  to  Pome- 
rania, to  Kulm,  and  to  Michelow,  and  in  re- 
turn got  them  to  withdraw  from  Cujavia  and 
Dobzyn.  The  Polish  people  were  much  opposed 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS     47 

to  this  treaty.  The  King  had  hard  work  to  get 
it  through  the  Diet,  and  never  wholly  regained 
the  popularity  it  cost  him.  The  national  in- 
stinct was  undoubtedly  right  in  opposing  the 
relinquishing  of  Poland's  claims  on  her  sea- 
board, and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  Casimir 
seems  to  have  been  unaware  of  its  value. 

To  balance  these  losses,  Casimir  added  the  / 
Kingdom  of  Galicia  or  Halicz  to  Poland.   This 
great  territory  had  been  settled  by  Russian  refu- 
gees from  Kiev  in  the  twelfth  century  and  had 
become  under  able  princes  one  of  the  greatest 
of  Russian  principalities.  In  1340  the  princely 
line  became  extinct  and  Casimir  claimed  the  ^ 
country  in  the  right  of  his  mother.   Olgierd  of  y 
Lithuania,  son  of  Gedymin,  also  claimed  it,  and 
war  followed,  but  neither  ruler  really  wanted 
to  fight  the  other,  and  the  mediation  of  the 
King  of  Hungary,  brother-in-law  of  Casimir,  re- 
sulted in  a  compromise  by  which  Poland  got 
East  Galicia  with  Lemberg  (Lwow)  and  Lithu- 
ania had  the  rest. 

Internal  policy  was,  however,  Casimir*s  real^ 
interest  and  the  basis  of  his  title  "the  Great." 
He  protected  the  Jews,  carefully  defined  the 
spheres  of  Polish  and  Magdeburg  or  Teutonic 
law,  and  established  within  the  kingdom  a  su- 
preme court  of  appeal  for  both  laws.   Appeal 


48    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

to  German  courts,  outside  of  Poland,  for  final 
judgment,  was  no  longer  permitted  to  com- 
munities under  German  law.  He  also  tried 
by  legislation  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
kmetens  and  to  protect  them  against  the  ever- 
increasing  power  of  the  lords.  But  Casimir*s  re- 
forms stopped  short  of  the  only  measure  that 
could  really  improve  their  condition  perma- 
nently :  namely,  to  give  them  a  share  in  the  gov- 
ernment. In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  called 
in  derision  by  nobles  '*the  peasant  king,"  the 
condition  of  the  peasantry  became  worse  after 
Casimir  as  the  nobles  became  better  organized 
and  more  united.  It  was  under  Casimir,  and 
largely  as  a  result  of  the  position  his  alliances 
gave  his  kingdom,  that  Masovia  decided  to 
accept  the  suzerainty  of  Poland  instead  of 
that  of  the  Knights.  Her  allegiance  was  of 
great  value,  was  worth  indeed  far  more  than 
many  fortresses  on  Poland's  northeastern  bor- 
der. Casimir  devoted  much  of  his  attention 
to  internal  improvements.  He  founded  new 
towns,  built  castles,  churches,  and  monasteries, 
attracted  many  foreigners  to  the  country  and 
left  it  richer  and  more  prosperous  than  it  had 
ever  been. 

In  order  to  keep  the  government  in  the  hands 
of  a  king  of  his  own  sort,  who  could  maintain  its 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS     49 

integrity  and  keep  the  peace,  Casimir  secured 
the  succession  to  the  throne  of  his  nephew,*X^ 
Louis,  KingjofJHungary.  He  called  a  Diet  at 
Cracow  in  1339  which  elected  Louis  to  the 
Polish  throne,  thus  setting  aside  the  claims 
of  the  more  direct  heirs,  the  princes  of  Cuja- 
via  and  Masovia,  in  return  for  which  Louis 
promised  never  to  tax  without  the  consent  of 
the  Diet.  Louis  of  Anjou,  the  new  king,  who 
came  to  the  Polish  throne  in  1370,  was  a  very 
able  ruler,  but  too  occupied  with  other  in-*^ 
teres ts  to  pay  much  attention  to  Poland.  He 
visited  the  country  only  twice,  indeed,  in  the 
twelve  years  of  his  reign.  He  wanted  to  keep 
the  Polish  throne  in  his  family,  however,  so  he 
saw  that  Poland  was  decently  governed,  and 
the  prestige  of  his  name  and  power  protected 
her  from  many  dangers  and  difficulties.  Before  y 
his  death  he  got  the  Polish  nobles  to  elect  as 
queen  his  daughter,  Hedwig,  and  in  return  he 
reduced  the  land  tax  to  so  small  a  sum  that  the 
crown  became  dependent  for  supplies  on  the 
votes  of  the  estates.  Queen  Hedwig  in  1386.  \ 
married  Jagiello,  Grand  Duke  of  Lithuania, 
which  is  the  most  important  single  event  in 
Polish  history,  as  it  united  Poland  with  the 
great  Lithuanian  Empire  and  made  her  a  great, 
powerful,  and  heterogeneous  state. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  JAGIELLON  KINGS 
THE  ERA  OF   GREATNESS,    1^86- 1 572 

The  union  of  Poland  and  Lithuania  under 
one  king  brought  together  two  states  which 

^  had  nothing  in  common  but  their  enemies,  the 
Teutonic  Knights  and  the  rapidly  rising  Grand 
Duchy  of  Muscovy,  and  which  contained  ele- 
ments so  diverse,  so  antagonistic  even,  that  it 
was  an  all  but  impossible  task  to  weld  them 
together  and  make  of  them  a  real  political  unit. 
Yet  this  was  exactly  the  task  that  the  Jagiellon 
kings  set  themselves,  and  that  they  succeeded 
in  it  is  a  great  credit  to  their  statesmanship, 
^our  out  of  the  seven  of  them  were  statesmen 
of  real  ability.  They  were  of  the  patient,  tactful, 
cautious  type,  seeing  the  limits  of  their  tasks 
and  staying  carefully  within  them.  But  they 
were  none  of  them  really  great  kings.  They 
lacked  the  political  vision,  the  genius  for  ad- 
ministration which  was  necessary  to  stem  the 
rising  tide  of  the  power  of  the  nobility,  and  it 
was  precisely  during  this  period  of  Poland*s 

J  greatness    that    the    aristocratic    constitution 


/of 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      51 

came  into  existence,  which  in  a  short  two  hun- 
dred years  replaced  effective  government  with 
anarchy,  made  the  king  a  mere  figurehead,  de- 
stroyed the  freedom  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
commercial  and  agricultural  classes,  and  pre- 
pared Poland  to  become  the  prey  of  her  stronger 
neighbors. 

The  election  of  Jagiello  to  the  Polish  throne 
raised  up  a  host  of  enemies  against  him.  The 
Teutonic  Knights,  already  weakened  by  inter- 
nal dissensions,  saw  their  whole  position  men- 
aced by  the  union  of  Poland  and  Lithuania. 
The  conversion  of  Jagiello  and  of  Lithuania 
(officially,  anyway)  to  Christianity  took  away 
the  nominal  mission  of  the  Order  and  reduced 
its  warfare  to  political  aggression  pure  and  sim- 
ple, and  the  great  strength  of  the  Lithuano- 
Polish  state  was  a  serious  menace  to  its  politi- 
cal supremacy,  especially  as  the  Hundred  Years* 
War  and  the  Hussite  movement,  both  now  at 
their  height,  drew  German  fighting  men  to  the 
West  and  deprived  the  Order  of  reinforcements. 
Thus  threatened,  the  Order  used  all  its  diplo- 
matic skill  to  break  up  the  union  by  making 
trouble  between  Jagiello  and  his  cousin,  Witowt 
of  Lithuania,  who,  though  he  greatly  admired 
Jagiello  personally,  was  opposed  to  him  by 
every  political  consideration,  and  was  the  nat- 


52    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

ural  center  of  all  the  disafFectlon  to  the  union 
that  existed  in  Lithuania.  Jagiello  had  caused 
the  death  of  his  uncle,  Witowt's  father,  in  order 
to  secure  the  Lithuanian  throne,  using  for  this 
purpose  the  services  of  the  Teutonic  Order  — 
ever  ready  to  promote  dissension  among  its 
y  neighbors.  Witowt,  ambitious  and  very  able, 
both  as  a  statesman  and  a  soldier,  had  himself 
aspired  to  the  throne  of  Poland,  and  failing  that, 
had  determined  to  keep  Lithuania  separate, 
raise  it  to  a  kingdom,  and  rule  it  himself.  He 
was  supported  in  this  ambition,  not  only  by 
>the  Teutonic  Order  and  by  the  German  Em- 
peror Sigismund,  but  also,  probably,  by  the 
majority  of  the  Lithuanian  nobility.  Their  op- 
position to  the  union  was  both  political  and 
religious.  Religiously,  though  Lithuania  proper 
was  officially  Roman  Catholic,  in  fact  she  was 
still  more  than  half  pagan,  while  the  province 
of  Samogitia  was  frankly  pagan  and  remained 
so  for  along  time.  The  rest  of  the  territory — 
that  conquered  from  Russia,  which  was  five 
sixths  of  the  whole  —  belonged  to  the  Eastern 
-.or  Greek  Orthodox  Catholic  Church,  and  was 
/  almost  as  hostile  to  Roman  Catholicism  as  to 
paganism.  Since  the  Greek  Church  is  so  im- 
portant an  element  in  Polish  history,  a  word 
regarding  its  history  is  perhaps  in  place. 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      53 

Originally,  as  is  well  known,  the  Catholic 
Church  was  one.  Each  bishop  was  supreme  in 
his  own  diocese  and  subject  to  no  superior  . 
authority  except  the  General  Church  Councils. 
When,  however,  the  Roman  Empire  broke  into 
two  parts,  the  Eastern  and  the  Western,  as 
a  result  of  the  barbarian  invasions,  the  two 
branches  of  the  Church  developed  very  dif- 
ferently. The  Church  of  the  West  >^as  very 
strongly  influenced  by  Roman  law.  Changes 
in  its  creed,  in  its  ritual,  and  also  the  increas- 
ing claims  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  to  suprem- 
acy over  the  other  bishops,  and  finally  over 
the  world,  completely  estranged  the  Eastern 
Church  and  led  to  its  rejection  of  the  author- 
ity of  the  Councils  where  these  matters  were 
decided  in  favor  of  the  West.  It  continued  its 
existence  as  a  separate  Church,  composed  of 
the  patriarchates  (or  archbishoprics)  of  Anti- 
och,  Alexandria,  Jerusalem,  and  Constantino- 
ple. Although  no  one  of  these' ever  attained  a 
supremacy  over  the  others  at  all  comparable 
to  the  supremacy  of  Rome  in  the  West,  yet 
Constantinople  being  the  capital  city  and  the 
residence  of  the  Emperor,  its  patriarch  did  ac- 
quire an  influence  and  a  prestige  much  greater 
than  that  of  the  other  patriarchs. 

It  was  from  the  Church  at  Constantinople 


54    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

that  the  missionaries  were  sent  who  Christian- 
ized Russia  and  from  Constantinople  the  Rus- 
sians derived,  not  only  their  religion,  but  their 

/^learning,  their  art,  their  philosophy,  and  their 
whole  civilization.  The  culture  which  they  de- 

^  veloped  had  thus  a  strong  Oriental  strain  based 
as  it  was  upon  Byzantine  tradition.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  fact  that  the  Poles  were  Roman 

V  Catholics  meant  that  their  civilization  was  es- 
sentially Roman  and  Teutonic  in  origin.  This 
difference  has  been  the  basal  reason  for  the 
age-long  antagonism  of  these  two  greatest,  and, 
geographically,  most  closely  connected,  of  Slav 
peoples.  From  the  very  moment  of  her  conver- 
sion. Orthodoxy  has  been  an  integral  part,  a 
necessary  characteristic,  of  Russian  national- 
ism, and  opposition  to  the  one  has  been,  from 
the  Polish  point  of  view,  necessarily  opposition 
to  the  other.  All  the  old-Russian  part  of  Lithu- 
/  ania  was  thus  steadily  opposed  to  any  union 
with  Roman  Catholic  Poland. 

Politically,  also,  there  were  difficulties.  Lith- 
uania was  feudally  organized,  and  the  greater 
nobles  as  well  as  the  Grand  Duke  dreaded  the 
lessening  of  their  authority  over  their  vassals 
and  their  peasantry,  which  amalgamation  with 
a  state  so  loosely  organized  and  so  decentralized 
as  Poland  would  be  almost  sure  to  produce. 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      55 

They  resented  also  Poland's  claim  on  the  border 
provinces  of  Volhynia  and  Podolia,  which  Lith- 
uanian arms  had  conquered,  and  were  jealous 
of  Poland's  claim  to  superiority  on  the  basis 
of  the  higher  level  of  her  civilization. 

Witowt  had,  therefore,  a  strong  following, 
and  Jagiello  saw  that  he  could  not  afford  to  re- 
main his  enemy,  especially  when  the  Teutonic 
Knights  began  their  inevitable  campaign  against 
him  in  1390.  Accordingly,  by  the  Compact 
of  Wilna  in  140 1,  Jagiello  surrendered  all  his 
rights  to  the  CJrand  Duchy  to  Witowt,  on  the 
sole  condition  that  the  two  states  were  to  have 
jointly  elected  sovereigns  and  were  to  pursue 
a  common  policy.  Witowt  then  joined  Jagiello 
in  the  war  against  the  Knights,  and  together 
they  inflicted  upon  them  the  great  defeat  at 
Griinewald.  or  Tannenberg  (Tulv.  1410).  Ja- 
giello was  unable  to  follow  up  his  victory,  how 
ever,  because  Witowt  withdrew  the  Lithuanian 
army  to  meet  a  Tartar  raid  at  home,  and  the 
Polish  army  had  to  be  persuaded  to  fight.  This 
took  so  much  time  that  the  opportunity  passed 
and  the  peace  signed  the  following  year,  the 
fijgt  Peace  of  Thorn J14IJL),  was  in  fact  little 
more  than  a  truce,  as  it  left  the  Order  ter- 
ritorially intact.  The  Knights  simply  with- 
drew from  Samogitia  and  Dobryzn  —  Polish 


56    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

provinces  that  they  had  invaded  during  the 
war  —  and  paid  an  indemnity. 

The  King  was  determined  to  have  more,  and 
saw  that  to  do  it  it  was  necessary  to  conciliate 
Lithuania  still  further.  Accordingly,  he  opened 
negotiations  with  Witowt  and  in  1414  the  Union 
of  Horodlo  was  made  which  put  the  two  states 
on  terms  of  exact  equality.  Separate  and  jdgn- 
tical  administrations  were  provided  for  the  two 
countries,  all  the  great  officers  of  state  being 
duplicated,  one  for  "the  Crown,"  as  Poland 
was  designated,  one  for  the  Grand  Duchy.  The 
Grand  Duke  was  declared  to  be  in  all  respects 
the  equal  of  the  King  of  Poland  and  all  the 
privileges  of  the  Polish  nobles  were  extended  to 
ythe  Roman  Catholic  nobles  of  Lithuania.  This 
last  concession  meant  exemption  from  all  the 
services  and  dues  of  a  feudal  nature  which  had 
been  in  force  since  the  time  of  Gedymin,  and 
was  a  great  advantage  to  the  nobility,  though 
it  impoverished  the  state.  The  limitation  of 
the  privilege  to  Roman  Catholics  was  to  secure 
Poland  against  the  Muscovite  leanings  of  the 
Orthodox  in  the  old-Russian  provinces.  This 
enactment  secured  to  the  Union  the  support  of 
all  the  Catholic  Lithuanian  nobles  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  Witowt  did  not  like  it  and  pre- 
vented its  being  carried  out  in  many  cases. 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      57 

During  the  next  reign,  in  I434>  a  union  of  the 
Greek  and  Roman  churches  took  place  at  a 
convenLiaJEIorencej  —  known  as  the  "  Union 
oLElorence,"  —  which  resulted  in  establishing 
what  is  known  as  the  *'Umate£ii^^fch.'*  The 
Orthodox  Church  conceded  recognition  of  the 
Pope,  and  in  return  the  Roman  Church  agreed 
to  their  use  of  their  own  ritual,  the  retention  of 
their  own  creed  and  of  a  married  clergy.  This 
arrangement  was  a  convenient  compromise  by 
which,  without  violence  to  their  faith,  the  Or- 
thodox nobles  of  Lithuania  could  enjoy  the 
benefits  of  the  Union  of  Horodlo  and  it  was 
very  generally  adopted  throughout  the  Ukraine 
and  later  in  Lithuania,  thus  considerably  in- 
creasing Lithuanian  support  of  the  Union. 

The  death  of  Queen  Hed^dg>ja- 120^  was  a 
very  real  loss  to  the  kingdom.  Obliged  when 
only  a  girl,  for  political  reasons,  to  give  up  her 
cousin,  William  of  Habsburg,  to  whom  she  was 
betrothed  and  whom  she  dearly  loved,  and  to 
marry  a  man  twice  her  age,  whom  she  had 
never  seen  and  whom  all  her  circle  regarded 
as  a  barbarian,  she  reconciled  herself  to  the 
marriage  by  regarding  it  as  a  Christian  mis- 
sion as  well  as  a  patriotic  service  and  devoted 
her  life  to  Christianizing,  educating,  and  civil- 
izing her  people.   Her  sympathy  with  the  poor 


58     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

and  the  oppressed  was  well  known  all  over  the 
kingdom,  but  she  had  more  vigorous  qualities 
as  well.  On  one  occasion,  when  Jagiello  was 
absent  in  Lithuania  and  the  Hungarians  in- 
vaded the  Polish  border,  she  herself  led  an 
army  against  them,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  Hungarians  were  her  own  people.  She 
founded  a  Lithuanian  College  at  Prague,  and 
bequeathed  her  jewels  for  the  completion  of 
the  University  of  Cracow,  founded  in  1364  by 
Casimir  the  Great.  Jagiello  outlived  her  thirty- 
three  years  and  had  two  other  wives  after  her 
death. 

The  Hussite  wars  took  place  during  the 
reign  of  Jagiello  and  the  Hussite  influence  was 
considerably  felt  in  Poland.  The  King  not  only 
helped  the  Hussite  cause  with  men  and  money, 
for  political  reasons,  but  allowed  public  dis- 
cussions of  the  points  at  issue  between  the 
Hussites  and  Roman  Catholics  to  take  place 
freely  in  Cracow.  This  was  a  unique. and  re-^ 
markable  thing  in  fifteenth-century  Europe, 
//  where  bigotry  was  so  characteristic  of  religiou-s 
zeal  and  persecution  the  chief  attention  paid 
to  new  religious  ideas. 
)  During^agiell(ysJongj;dgn^of  forty-eight 
years,  Poland  was  well  started_on  her  way_to 
become  a  great  power.    He  established  a  gov- 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      59 

ernment  and  created  a  unity  of  feeling  strong 
enough  to  hold  the  country  together  and  enable 
it  to  go  on  by  itself  during  the  ten  years  of  bad 
government  that  followed  his  death. 

Wladislaus  III  ( 1 434-1 444),  son_of  Wladis-  \/^ 
laus-Jagiello,  was  only  nine  years  old  when  he 
became  king  and  only  twenty  when  he  died 
on  the  battlefield  of  Varna  fighting  against  the 
Turks.  In  1442  he  had  been  elected  King  of 
Hungary  when  that  country  was  making  a 
titanic  struggle  against  the  Turks  and  wanted 
the  assistance  of  the  great  Lithuano-Polish 
state.  The  young  Wladislaus  defeated  the 
Turks  and  made  a  good  peace  for  Hungary, 
but  was  urged  by  the  Papal  Legate  to  reopen 
the  war  in  order  to  draw  off  the  Turks  from 
Constantinople,  which  they  were  besieging,  and 
which  nine  years  later  they  were  to  capture.  It 
was  at  the  head  of  an  expedition  which  he  led 
for  the  relief  of  Constantinople  that  the  King 
was  killed  —  happily,  perhaps,  for  Poland. 

CgsimiiMn^^  his   brother,  who^ 

succeeded  him,  was  a  statesman  of  the  type  of 
his  father,  whose  work  he  carried  forward  with 
ability  and  devotion.  He  was  only  seventeen 
when  his  brother  died,  he  had  always  lived 
in  Lithuania  which  he  had  ruled  during  his 
brother's  life,  and,  sagacious  beyond  his  years, 


6o    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

he  had  small  desire  to  exchange  the  Lithuanian 
throne  for  the  more  troublesome  one  of  Poland. 
He  was  resolved  to  become  King  of  Poland  only 
Jon  condition  of  reestablishing  the  real  union  of 
the  two  crowns.  It  was  three  years  before  the 
questions  at  issue  between  the  two  countries 
had  been  settled  sufficiently  to  his  liking  for 
him  to  accept  the  throne  of  Poland. 

Under  Cagimir,  Pomerelia  (Pomerania  west 
of  the  Vistula),  in  tKe  possession  of  the  Teu- 
tonic Knights  sinpe  the  thirteenth  century,  was 
^     restoredjo  Poland  as  the  result  of  the  long  war 
r     which  Casimir  waged  against  them  in  alliance 
^  ^    .    with  the  townspeople  and  gentry  of  Pomerelia. 
^*^  These  classes  in   1440  formed   the  so-called 
I-    -^"^i-ussian  League'*  for  the  defense  of  their 


.'" 


74*%/rights  against  the  Order,  which  had  become 
/y^  simply  a  governing  aristocracy,  wholly  out  of 
touch  with  the  people,  and  exploiting  them  in 
its  own  selfish  interests.  In  1454  the  Prussian 
League  offered  its  allegiance  to  Casimir  and 
fought  with  him  for  thirteen  years  for  freedom 
from  the  Order.  The  length  of  the  war  was  due 
very  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  Polish  nobles 
made  the  King's  dependence  upon  them  for 
men  and  money  the  occasion  to  exact,  as  the 
price  of  every  subsidy,  constitutional  conces- 
sions of  the  greatest  importance.   The  delays 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      6i 

and  uncertainties  thus  entailed  hampered  the 
King  greatly,  but  finally  he  managed  to  get 
the  money  with  which  to  pay  Bohemian  mer- 
cenaries, the  best  soldiers  of  that  day,  by  whose 
assistance  the  Order  was,  at  last,  defeated. 
Casimir's  diplomatic  skill  also  won  the  Pope, 
heretofore  the  champion  of  the  Knights,  to  his 
side,  and  it  was  through  papal  mediation  that 
the  Pea_ce  of  Thorn  (1466)  was  finally  signed 
which  gave  to  Poland  Pomerelia,  orPolish  Prus- 
sia. Over  East  Prussia  or  Prussia  proper  the 
King  was  able  to  establish  only  his  suzerainty, 
the  Teutonic  Order  continuing  to  rule  there, 
but  as  vassals  of  the  King  of  Poland.  The 
Grand  Master  of  the  Order  was  given  the  first 
place  in  the  Polish  Senate,  having  a  seat  at  the 
King's  right  hand,  and  had  exclusive  jurisdic- 
tion over  his  own  territories,  even  the  amount  of 
military  service  he  rendered  being  left  largely 
to  his  own  decision. 

This  compromise  treaty  was  a  keen  disap- 
pointment to  the  King,  who  had  counted  on 
conquering  the  Order  once  for  all  and  subject- 
ing it  absolutely  to  Poland,  but  his  hands  were 
tied  by  the  selfishness  and  fatal  blindness  of 
the  nobles.  But,  after  all,  Poland's  gains  were 
very  great.  The  possession  of  the  Baltic  sea- 
board, after  three  hundred  years,  offered  great 


62    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

opportunities  for  commercial  expansion,  and 
tended  to  bring  Poland  into  the  wider  channels 
of  the  life  of  the  West. 

From  the  constitutional  point  of  view  the 
struggle  between  the  King  and  the  nobles  who 
formed  his  army  was  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance. Profiting  by  the  King's  necessities  — 
which  they  ought  to  have  felt  were  their  own 
necessities  also,  but  did  not  —  the  szlachta  re- 
fused to  go  to  war  until  the  King  had  granted 
the  so-called  ''StatutesjofN^esza^  (l454)' 
by  which  he  promised  neither  to  make  new 
laws  nor  call  the  nation  (i.e.,  the  szlachta)  to 
arms  without  the  consent  of  the  szlachta.  As 
exemption  from  all  taxes  and  dues  except  mili- 
tary service  had  been  granted  them  by  Louisi 
of  Anjoi^  (in'1374,  by  the  '*  Privilege  of  Kas^ 
diaji"  in  order  to  secure  the  succession  of  his 
daughter  to  the  throne),  and  as  military  service 
now  became  voluntary  with  them  and  legisla- 
tion was  in  their  hands,  they  were  theoretically 
in  control  of  the  state,  and  needed  only  the 
machinery  by  which  to  use  their  new  powers 
and  carry  out  their  will.  They  found  this  ma- 
chinery in  their  local  assemblies  or  Dietines,  or 
Sejmikiy  and  later  in  the  central  Diet  which 
they  developed  to  meet  their  requirements. 

To  understand  this  development  we  must 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      63 

look  back  to  the  time  of  Casimir  the  Great, 
when  the  szlachta,  desirous  of  resisting  the 
King's  efforts  toward  centralization,  looked 
about  for  means  to  their  end.  The  most  natu- 
ral and  effective  instrument  that  came  to  their 
hand  was  the  local  assemblies  of  the  principali- 
ties, or  palatinates  as  they  came  to  be  called. 
The  szlachta  succeeded  in  transforming  these 
hitherto  official  councils  into  general  assemblies 
of  all  the  szlachta  of  the  provinces.-  At  first 
the  Dietines  concerned  themselves  with  local 
affairs  only,  but  as  the  szlachta  won  new  and 
wider  rights  from  the  Crown  they  exercised 
these  also  through  the  Sejmikij  partly  because 
they  were  in  existence  and  no  machinery  for 
united  action  was,  but,  probably,  chiefly  be- 
cause it  was  natural  to  them  to  act  as  members 
of  the  local  community  rather  than  as  citizens 
of  a  united  state.  The  long  "  Parti tional  Pe- 
riod "  had  created  this  provincial  feeling  which 
led  inevitably  to  a  decentralized  state. 

The  result  of  this  was  that  for  purposes  of 
taxation  after  1374,  and  of  legislation  after 
1454,  the  King  had  to  consult  each  Dietine  sep- 
arately. This  was  difficult  in  many  ways,  and 
the  need  of  a  central  Diet  was  greatly  felt.  The 
germ  of  one,  indeed,  existed  and  was  developed 
in  the  next  reign,  but  Casimir  had  to  deal  with 


64    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

the  Dietines  directly,  and  found  it  a  slow  and 
trying  process. 

The  Hussite  movement  was  at  its  height  in 
Bohemia  during  Casimir*s  reign,  and  Casimir, 
tolerant  like  all  the  Jagiellos,  was  very  friendly 
with  the  Hussite  leaders.  The  King  of  Bohemia 
at  this  time  was  George  Podiebrodski  who,  re- 
alizing that  papal  opposition  to  his  policy  of 
toleration  toward  the  Hussites  would  make  the 
succession  of  his  own  son  impossible,  made  an 
alliance  with  Casimir  by  which  Casimir*s  eldest 
son,  Wladislaus,  became  King  of  Bohemia  on 
the  death  of  Podiebrodski  in  1 471.  Casimir 
also  tried  to  put  his  second  son,  John  Albert,  on 
the  Hungarian  throne,  and  wasted  long  years 
in  this  fruitless  and  mistaken  attempt  —  one 
of  the  very  few  mistakes  that  Casimir  made. 

While  he  was  wasting  his  efforts  on  the  south 
and  west,  his  enemies  on  his  Lithuanian  fron- 
tiers —  Teutonic  Knights,  Turks,  Tartars,  and 
Muscovites,  all  encouraged  and  aided  by  the 
hostile  King  of  Hungary  —  were  making  seri- 
ous trouble.  Muscovy,  particularly,  under  its 
very  able  and  astute  Czar  Ivan  HL  had  thrown 
off  the  Tartar  yoke  and  had  set  to  work  to 
expand  toward  the  west,  and  particularly  to 
J  reconquer  the  old-Russian  lands  in  the  posses- 
^sion  of  Lithuania.    The  Turks  also,  in  1453, 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      65 

hadca 
Tartai 


had  captured  Constantinople  and  had  taken  the 
y^«J>  Tartars  of  the  Crimea  under  their  protection, 
1  and  the  combination  had  become  a  very  serious 


menace  to  southern  Europe.  A  league  was  in 
process  of  formation  against  them  which  Casi- 
mir  joined  in  1484,  chiefly  in  order  to  keep  open 
Poland's  great  southern  trade  route  which  was 
seriously  menaced  by  the  Turkish  capture  of 
the  Moldavian  towns  commanding  the  mouths 
of  the  Danube  and  the  Dniester.  Poland  had 
exercised  a  very  loose  sort  of  suzerainty  over 
Moldavia  since  1393.^  It  had  been  sufficient, 
however,  to  protect  her  trade  which  was  the 
chief  value  to  her  of  the  province. 

During  the  war  over  Moldavia  the  King  of 
Hungary,  Matthias  Corvinus,  the  inveterate 
enemy  of  Casimir,  was  killed.  The  Hungarians 
at  once  elected  Wladislaus  of  Bohemia  to  fill  his 
place,  which  effectively  solved  the  Hungarian 
problem  for  Poland  and  put  the  Jagiellon  dy- 
nasty in  possession  of  four  thrones. 

During  the  reign  of  Casimir  and  under  his 
wise  guidance,  Poland  and  Lithuania  had  re- 
mained closely  united  and  the  state  had  be- 
come a  great  European  power.  The  separatist 
tendencies  in  Lithuania,  still  very  strong  and 

1  Roman  Prince  of  Halicz  was  ruler  of  Moldavia  in  1393, 
when,  at  his  own  wish,  he  became  a  vassal  of  the  King  of 
Poland. 


66    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

constantly  pushing  Lithuania  toward  Muscovy, 
were  always  recognized  by  Casimir  as  a  very 
real  danger  to  the  union,  and  he  worked  inces- 
santly to  counteract  these  tendencies  by  con- 
structive means.  He  promoted  Catholic  propa- 
ganda in  Lithuania  by  every  means  in  his  power 

j  except  persecution  of  the  Orthodox,  which  he 
would  not  consider  for  a  moment.  He  also  fa- 
vored the  Uniate  churches,  established  in  Lith- 
uania in  1443,  by  considering  the  Uniates  as 
Catholics  and  extending  to  them  all  the  privi- 
leges granted  to  the  Catholics  by  Horodlo.  He 
never  appointed  a  viceroy  for  Lithuania  or  al- 
lowed even  one  of  his  sons  to  represent  him 
there,  but  kept  the  government  entirely  under 
\his  own  direction,  thus  maintaining  absolute 
•unity  and  centralization. 

The  long  reign  of  Casimir  IV  was  followed  by 

^he  short  reigns  of  his  third  and  fourth  sons. 

'y  ohn  Albert  (i  492-1 501)  and  Alexander  (1501- 
1506). 

The  reign  of  John  Albert  was  filled  with 
wars  against  the  Turks,  which  were  almost 
never  successful  and  necessitated  constant  ap- 
peals for  money  to  the  szlachta,  who  gave  very 
little,  but  extorted  in  return  concessions  that 
went  far  toward  ruining  the  country.  To 
avoid  the  necessity  of  applying  to  each  Dietine 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      67 

for  each  grant,  a  slow  and  troublesome  process, 
J ojin  Albert  reyived^th^NationaX^iet  and  had 
each  of  the  Dietines  send  deputies  tctit.  Since 
tlie  Diet  of  Chenciny  in  1331  the  szlachta  had 
had  the  theoretical  right  to  sit  with  the  Senate 
and  advise  the  King,  and  from  time  to  time 
some  of  them  had  done  so.  So  also  had  rep- 
resentatives from  the  towns  and  the  lower 
clergy.  But  it  was  not  until  1493,  in  the  Diet 
summoned  by  John  Albert  at  Piotrkow,  that 
all  the  Dietines  were  represented.  This  Diet 
thus  formed  Poland's  Model  Parliament.  Like 
the  English  Parliament  the  Diet  sat  in  two 
houses :  the  Senate,  composed  of  prelates,  pala-  1 
tines,  castellans,  and  crown  officials,  formed 
the  upper  House,  while  the  deputies  from  the 
Dietines,  called  Nuncios,  formed  the  lower. 
Deputies  from  the  towns  sat  with  the  Nuncios 
in  this  and  in  some  few  succeeding  Diets,  but 
they  soon  dropped  out,  just  why  is  not  known. 
At  the  Diet  of  1493,  before  financial  matters 
were  even  considered,  the  King  was  obliged  to 
sign  a  new  ** Constitution"  confirming  all  the 
privileges  of  the  szlachta,  Jii  return  he  might 
reasonably  have  expected  a  generous  grant, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  the  szlachta  were  so  nig- 
gardly that  by  1496  the  King  was  as  poor  as 
ever,  and  had  to  call  a  new  Diet  to  relieve  his 


68    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

necessities.  The  szlachta  had  apparently  spent 
the  intervening  years  preparing  for  this  occa- 
sion and  came  to  the  Diet  of  1496  with  a  whole 
volume  of  new  demands  which,  when  enacted 
into  laws,  as  they  were  before  the  Diet  ad- 
journed, completed  the  process  which  made  the 
Iszlachta  a  class  apart,  possessing  all  the  privi- 
( leges  of  government,  free  from  all  its  burdens, 
and  holding  the  other  classes  in  a  subjection 

ithat  not  only  degraded  the  commercial  and 
agricultural  classes  politically,  but  ultimately 
ruined  them  economically,  thus  destroying  the 
^  prosperity  of  the  whole  country  and  dimin- 
\  ishing  very  seriously  the  sources  of  wealth  for 
the  state.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these 
enactments  was  one  by  which  the  burgesses 
were  deprived  of  the  right  to  hold  land  outside 
the  very  restricted  area  of  thejcity  walls.  This 
practically  excluded  them  from  holding  any 
land  at  all,  and  thus  made  it  impossible  for 
the  richer  merchants,  as  in  other  countries,  to 
buy  landed  estates,  and  thus  enter  the  noble 
and  military  class.  Not  only  was  a  great  in- 
centive to  the  accumulation  of  wealth  by  this 
class  thus  destroyed,  but  another  enactment 
exempting  the  szlachta  from  all  export  and 
img^jrt  duties  put  the  burgesses  at  such  a  dis- 
advantage commercially  that  they  soon  ceased 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      69 

to  be  a  wealthy  class,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
century  no  longer  formed  a  class  distinct  from 
the  peasantry,  to  whose  level  they  had  been 
gradually  pressed  down. 

The  agricultural  class,  also,  which  had  strug- 
gled long  and  manfully  to  maintain  its  free- 
dom, was  now  pushed  down  into  a  condition 
of  serfdom  by  statutes  which,  on  the  one  hand, 
limited  the  freedom  of  the  farmers  by  obliging 
them  to  stay  on  the  land  and  work  only  for 
their  landlords  and  at  customary  wages  during 
harvest  time  when  other  labor  was  short  and 
prices  for  outside  labor  high;  and,  on  the  other, 
changed  the  system  of  land  tenure  into  what 
was  practically  the  socage  system. 

Another  law  passed  at  this  time,  by  which  the 
holding  of  Church  benefices  was  limited  to 
those  whose  parents  were  both  noble,  ^  put  the 
Church  on  the  side  of  the  privileged  and  de- 
prived the  lower  classes  of  their  best  champion. 

And  in  return  for  all  this,  John  Albert  got 
nothing  at  all  from  the  szlachta  personally,  who 
contented  themselves  with  voting  him  two 
small  subsidies,  one  of  which  came  out  of  the 
towns  and  the  other  from  the  peasants !  Small 
wonder  that  the  King's  Italian  tutor,  Buona- 

1  Exception  was  made  of  three  canonries,  to  which  doctors 
of  canon  law,  medicine,  and  theology  of  plebeian  origin  were 
alone  eligible. 


70    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

corsi,  should  have  advised  him  to  restrain  the 
liberties  of  the  nobles  at  all  costs,  though  it  is 
not  at  all  probable  that  the  King  allowed  him- 
self to  be  defeated  by  the  Turks  and  Tartars  in 
Moldavia  in  order  to  increase  the  royal  author- 
ity, as  some  of  his  nobles  accused  him  of  doing. 
In  spite  of  his  misfortunes  the  King  seems  to 
have  kept  the  confidence  of  the  masses  of  the 
people.  Even  the  Diet  in  1501,  shortly  before 
his  death,  granted  back  to  him  the  entire  con- 
trol of  the  military  forces  of  the  kingdom  in 
order  to  facilitate  his  opposition  to  the  Turks, 
who  during  the  later  years  of  the  reign  were 
ravaging  Poland's  southeastern  border. 
.  ,  John  Albert  was  succeeded  by  his  brother 
I  (Alexander  (i  501-1506),  who  in  open  defiance 
of  the  agreement  of  Horodlo  had  been  elected 
Grand  Duke  of  Lithuania  in  1492.  Steady 
pressure  from  Muscovy,  however,  had  at  last 
convinced  Lithuania  that  union  with  Poland 
was  useful,  and  from  this  time  on  the  Lithuani- 
ans took  the  Kings  of  Poland  for  their  Grand 
Dukes. 

During  Alexander's  reign,  however,  Poland 
could  give  Lithuania  little  help.  Turks  and 
Moldavians  continued  their  raids  on  her  bor- 
ders, and  the  Teutonic  Knights,  under  a  vigor- 
ous and  able  Grand  Master,  Albert  of  Hohen- 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      71 

zollern,  took  advantage  of  the  situation  to  re- 
fuse homage  to  the  PoHsh  King  and  to  attempt 
the  reconquest  of  Polish  Prussia.  Worse  than 
that,  however,  the  szlachta  took  advantage  of 
the  weakness  of  Alexander,  both  in  character! 
and  in  health,  to  complete  their  work  of  wreck- ( 
ing  the  kingship  and  despoiling  the  lower  classes.  \ 

Perceiving  how  much  greater  their  power  of 
extortion  was  over  an  uncrowned  than  over 
a  crowned  king,  the  szlachta  presented  to  him 
and  obliged  him  to  sign,  in  place  of  the  usual 
coronation  agreement,  by  which  the  King  sim- 
ply confirmed  the  privileges  of  the  nobility,  a 
whole  series  of  articles,  known  as  the  "Articles 
of  Mielmga,''  by  which  the  King  was  deprived 
of  the  control  of  the  mint  and  the  regalia,  and 
his  appointing  power  greatly  reduced ;  members 
of  the  Senate  also  were  exempted  from  prosecu- 
tion by  the  royal  courts. 

The  Pacta  Conventa  thus  became  what  it 
afterwards  remained  under  the  elective  king- 
ship, one  of  the  most  formidable  governmental 
weapons  in  the  hands  of  the  ruling  class. 

But  even  greater  humiliations  were  in  store  ^^ 
for  the  King.  In  1504  the  Diet  enacted  that  the 
royal  estates  should  not  be  mortgaged  without 
the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Senate  given 
during  the  sitting  of  the  Diet;  that  the  King 


72     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

should  be  constantly  attended  by  a  permanent 
council  of  twenty-four  Senators  (the  Senators 
were  to  take  six-month  turns  at  this  some- 
what arduous  addition  to  their  functions)  and 
that  the  Grand  Chancellor  and  the  Vice  Chan- 
cellor should  be  appointed  only  during  the  ses- 
sion of  the  Diet,  and  should  receive  the  ratifi- 
cation of  the  Senate.  In  1505,  at  the  famous 
Dipt^nf  I^aHom.  by  the  Edict  Nihil^^vi,  the 
Diet  was  given  its  permanent  organization,  and 
the  King  bound  himself  and  his  successors 
never  to  alter  it,  or  any  other  part  of  the  Con- 
stitution, or  to  enact  new  legislation  without 
the  consent  of  both  houses  of  the  Diet. 
I  Alexander's  death  in  1506  left  the  country  in 
a  bad  condition.  The  finances  were  ruined  by 
extravagance  and  bad  government ;  the  south- 
eastern provinces  were  wasted  by  Tartar  raids, 
while  Lithuania  was  threatened  by  Muscovy 
without  and  torn  by  feuds  among  the  nobles 
within. 

Fortunately  the  new  King,  Sigismund  I 
( 1 506-1 548),  Alexander's  brother,  was  a  man 
of  character,  talents,  and  experience  in  govern- 
ment. His  brother,  Wladislaus  of  Bohemia  and 
Hungary,  had  made  him  Governor  of  Silesia, 
the  most  troublesome  of  all  his  possessions, 
where  Sigismund  had  speedily  put  an  end  to 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      73 

the  continual  and  age-long  dissension  between 
Slavs  and  Germans,  reorganized  the  finances, 
and  made  the  province  a  model  of  a  modem  well- 
governed  state.   There  is  no  doubt  that  Sigis- 
mund  understood  Poland's  problems  and  that 
his  policy,  of  peace  abroad  and  of  economy 
and  financial  reorganization  at  home,  designed 
to  pay  Poland's  debts  and  give  to  the  King  an 
income  that  should  make  him,  in  some  meas- 
ure at  least,  independent  of  the  szlachtay  was 
a  wise  one,  and  had  he  come  to  the  throne  a  ^ 
little  earlier,  before  the  sdachta  were  so  firmly 
entrenched,  he  might  have  been  able  to  carry 
out  his  policy  and  put  the  kingship  in  a  po- 
sition of  vantage  that  later  monarchs  could 
have  sustained,  and  thus  have  prevented  the 
worst  of   Poland's  degradation.    But   it  was 
too  late.   The  szlachta,  already  supreme  legis-^ 
latively,  during  this  reign  steadily  encroached 
upon  the  executive  authority  and  passed  stat- 
utes forbidding  the  Captain-General,  or  **  Grand  . 
Hetman,"  to  levy  troops,  the  Lord  Treasurer  ^ 
to  collect  taxes,  or  the  Grand  Councillor  to   j 
direct  the  tribunals  of  the  kingdom.  The  Diet 
was  to  attend  to  these  matters  henceforth.  On    ' 
the  other  hand,  the  King  upheld  the  szlachta 
in  their  determined  opposition  to  the  attempt 
of  the  magnates  to  separate  themselves  from 


74    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

the  szlachta  and  become  legally,  what  they  were 
in  large  measure  economically  and  socially,  a 
class  apart.  The  victory  of  the  szlachta  is  seen 
in  the  enactment  of  the  Diet  of  1527,  which  did 
away  with  all  exemptions  from  military  service 
and  obliged  every  great  noble,  as  well  as  every 
poorer  one,  to  contribute  to  the  army  according 
to  his  means.  As  the  troops  thus  contributed 
had  to  be  placed  under  the  King's  direct  con- 
trol, this  measure  was  of  real  advantage  to  the 
monarchy.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  sus- 
picion of  the  magnates  of  the  Senate,  through 
whose  hands,  as  officers  of  the  Crown,  the  pub- 
lic money  must  necessarily  pass,  kept  the  Diets 
of  1522  and  1523  from  voting  anything  at  all 
for  national  defense,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  King  was  at  war  with  the  Turks.  This 
was  only  the  culmination  of  a  policy  of  parsi- 
mony and  indecision  on  financial  matters  that 
,/  hampered  and,  in  large  measure,  made  impos- 
sible the  King's  work  of  rehabilitation. 

In  view  of  these  facts  what  the  King  accom- 
plished in  the  way  of  financial  regeneration  is 
really  remarkable.  At  the  very  beginning  of 
his  reign,  he  called  to  conference  with  him  some 
of  the  successful  foreign  merchants  and  bankers 
of  Cracow,  such  as  the  Scotchman,  John  Boner, 
and  the  Germans,  Kaspar  Beer  and  the  two 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      75 

Bettraans,  and  put  into  their  hands  the  reform 
of  the  finances  of  the  state.  By  applying  very 
skillful  business  management  to  the  problem, 
they  succeeded  in  rescuing  the  state  from  bank- 
ruptcy. The  King  was  enabled  to  pay  his 
brother's  debts,  to  recover  some  of  the  alienated 
crown  lands,  and  to  hire  a  few  mercenaries  to 
form  the  nucleus  of  a  standing  army  independ-| 
ent  of  the  vagaries  of  the  szlachta.  His  attempt 
to  increase  this  army  by  commuting  the  mili-  [ 
tary  services  of  the  nobility  to  money  pay- 
ments was,  however,  rejected  by  the  Diet. 

The  szlachta  were  also  during  this  reign  doing 
their  best  to  exclude  the  deputies  of  the  towns 
from  the  Diets  and  thus  complete  the  degrada- 
tion of  the  burgher  class.  But  this  the  King  was 
able  to  prevent.  Recognizing  the  great  value 
to  the  state  of  a  rich,  strong,  middle  class,  he  1 
was,  as  indeed  were  all  the  Jagiellos,  the  con- 
sistent friend  and  champion  of  the  towns.  Inj 
1 5 13,  when  the  representatives  of  Cracow  were! 
excluded  from  their  local  Dietine,  the  King  re- 
instated them  and  publicly  confirmed  them  in 
their  right  to  be  there.  This,  however,  did  not 
prevent  the  Dietines  from  trying  again,  and  in 
1539  the  King  issued  an  edict  threatening  to 
prosecute  for  lese-majeste  any  noble  who  should 
attempt  to  curtail  the  rights  of  the  citizens. 


76    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Many  Dietines  were  also  now  steadily  curtailing 
the  rights  of  the  peasantry.  The  obligation  to 
work  one  day  a  week  without  pay  on  the  lord's 
land  now  became,  in  some  palatinates,  a  legal 
and  a  general  one,  instead  of  a  matter  of  in- 
dividual arrangement  as  heretofore.  - 
T^It  was  during  this  reign  that  the  Reforma- 
tion came  into  Poland.  Poland  had  close  rela- 
tions with  Wittenberg  and  other  German  uni- 
versities through  her  youth  who  attended  them 
in  large  numbers,  and  the  doctrines  of  Luther 
spread  rapidly,  especially  in  Polish  Prussia. 
jIn  Danzig,  in  1524,  five  important  churches 
'changed  from  the  Catholic  to  the  Protestant 
worship.  The  Protestant  movement  here,  as 
in  many  other  places,  was  associated  with  a 
democratic  political  movement  which  aimed  at 
getting  the  town  government  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  ruling  oligarchy.  The  Lutheran  party 
were  able  to  force  the  election  of  a  new  town 
council,  but  not  content  with  a  moderate  vic- 
tory they  proceeded  to  abolish  Roman  Catholi- 
I  cism,  close  the  monasteries,  and  declare  all 
1  Church  property  confiscated  to  the  Govern- 
ment. These  measures  so  offended  the  Roman 
Catholics,  still  very  numerous  in  the  town, 
that  the  political  issue  became  secondary,  and 
when  the  King  came  with  his  troops  and  re- 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      77 

stored  the  old  order  the  sentiment  of  the  towns- 
people was  generally  with  him. 

Though  Sigismund  was  himself  a  strong  Cath- 
olic and  regarded  the  Lutheran  doctrines  as  .  ^*^ 
dangerous  innovations,  he  was  not  bigoted  and  [^^ 
neither  persecuted  Protestants  nor  allowed  the 
conversion  of  his  friends  to  that  faith  to  make  a 
difference  in  his  confidence  in  them  either  per- 
sonally or  officially.  He  was  equally  tolerant 
toward  the  Greek  Church,  and  his  favor  and 
friendship  toward  their  religion  did  much  to 
keep  the  old- Russian  provinces  faithful  to  the 
union  with  Poland  at  a  time  when  external 
events  strongly  taxed  their  allegiance. 

Temperamentally  a  lover  of  peace,  and  re- 
garding it  as  a  necessity  for  restoring  prosperity 
to  the  country  and  rebuilding  the  strength  of 
the  monarchy,  Sigismund  managed  by  diplo- 
macy and  compromise  to  keep  the  country 
from  a  long  war,  but  at  no  time  during  his 
reign  can  he  be  said  to  have  been  really  at  peace 
with  Muscovy. 

Originally  a  very  tiny  principality  belonging 
to  a  very  minor  prince  of  the  group  that  mi- 
grated from  Kiev  to  the  northeast,  Muscovy 
had  used  an  excellent  trading  position  to  be- 
come rich,  under  able  princes  had  extended  her 
territories,  and  by  friendship  with  the  Tartar 


78     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

khans  had  grown  strong  enough  to  lead  the 
movement  that  finally  freed  the  Russian  princes 
from  the  Tartar  yoke.  Having  thus  achieved 
the  position  of  leader  in  an  all- Russian  cause, 
the  Muscovite  prince  laid  claim  to  all  the  lands 
hitherto  Russian  (under  the  suzerainty  of  the 
Grand  Prince  of  Kiev)  and  called  himself,  by 
virtue  of  his  claim  upon  them,  **Czar  of  all 
Russia.*'  The  Russian  principalities  independ- 
ent of  him,  no  less  than  Lithuania,  regarded  this 
claim  as  entirely  preposterous,  but  Muscovy 
never  abandoned  it,  and  in  the  end  she  made  it 
good.  It  meant,  meanwhile,  permanent  hostil- 
ity between  Muscovy  and  Poland,  and  any 
cessation  of  hostilities  was  never  felt  to  be  more 
than  a  truce. 

Sigismund's  relations  with  Muscovy,  as  well 
as  his  whole  foreign  policy,  were  complicated 

'1  y  and  made  extremely  difficult  by  the  treachery 
of  Prince  Michael  Glinsky.  A  Lithuanian  of 
great  talents,  highly  educated,  traveled,  a  sol- 
dier of  European  renown,  Prince  Michael  had 
won  the  heart  as  well  as  the  favor  of  King 
Alexander,  who  had  made  him  Court  Marshal 
of  Lithuania  and  had  left  the  government  of 
the  Grand  Duchy  practically  in  his  hands.  The 

^0^  Prince  had  used  his  position  to  enrich  himself 
and  his  family  to  such  an  extent  that  at  Alex- 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      79 

ander*s  death  nearly  half  of  Lithuania  was  in 
their  hands,  and  it  was  generally  thought  that 
Prince  Michael  meditated  the  erection  of  these 
territories  into  an  independent  duchy  for  him- 
self.  In  any  case,  he  was  altogether  too  power- 
ful a  subject  for  Sigismund's  liking,  and  their 
mutual  suspicion  led  to  Glinsky's  desertion  to 
Muscovy,  carrying  a  good  number  of  his  friends 
and  supporters  with  him.    Henceforth  he  was 
the  most  persistent  and  insidious  of  Sigismund's 
enemies.    As  the  chief  adviser  of  the  Czar 
Vasily  HI,  who  had  married  his  niece,  Helena  ) 
Glinsky,  he  was  a  very  formidable  antagonist, 
giving  help  to  all  Sigismund's  foes,  and  letting  i 
slip  no  opportunity  to  embarrass  and  harass 
him.     And   there   were   many   such.    Turks,  ^ 
Tartars,   and  Teutonic    Knights,   as  well  as 
Muscovites,  were  always  ready  to  cross  the 
border  when  occasion  offered,  and  the  aspira- 
tions of  the  Habsburg  Emperors  to  the  thrones  \ 
of  Hungary  and  Bohemia,  occupied  by  Sigis-  | 
mund's  brother,  Wladislaus,  threatened  the  dy- 
nasty with  a  new  danger. 

As  a  result  of  szlachta  control  the  Polish  army 
was  always  inefficient  and  the  treasury  always 
empty,  so  that,  though  the  Poles  were  then,  as 
always,  excellent  soldiers,  and  the  Polish  army 
particularly  well  officered  by  men  trained  in  the 


8o    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

best  foreign  service,  the  Czar*s  army,  while  in- 
ferior in  personnel,  could  generally  defeat  them 
by  superior  organization.  For  these  reasons 
Smolensk,  the  great  border  fortress  of  Lithu- 
ania, remained  in  Russian  hands,  though  Sig- 
ismund  never  acknowledged  its  loss  by  any 
treaty. 

Similar  reasons  and  the  added  pressure  of  the 
Turks  on  the  south  made  necessary  Poland's 
recognition  of  the  transformation  of  the  terri- 
tories of  the  Teutonic  Order  into  the  Duchy 
\  of  Prussia.  Albert  of  Hohenzollem,  the  Grand 
Master,  was  converted  to  Protestantism  in  1522, 
and  to  keep  the  territory  of  the  Order  in 
his  own  possession,  he  followed  the  custom  of 
the  day  and  secularized  it ;  that  is,  he  declared 
it  no  longer  the  property  of  the  Order,  but  a 
secular  duchy,  hereditary  in  his  family.  Though 
this  was,  naturally,  extremely  objectionable  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  Powers,  from  whom  the 
use  of  a  technical  word  did  not  hide  the  fact 
that  the  transaction  was  plain  robbery,  Sigis- 
.  ^  mund  nevertheless  recognized  the  new  Protes- 
^V^f  ,  tant  state,  accepted  the  new  Duke  of  Prussia  as 
his  vassal,  and  received  his  homage  in  April 

of  1525. 

The  Turkish  question  was  a  very  serious  one 
for  Sigismund,  and  was  the  determining  factor 


\ 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      8i 

in  his  attitude  toward  Habsburg  aspirations  to 
the  thrones  of  Bohemia  and  Hungary.  Up  to 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  Hungary  and 
Moldavia  and  the  No  Man's  Land  of  the 
steppe  had  separated  the  Polish  Empire  from 
the  Turks,  and  the  King  of  Hungary  had  been 
the  ruler  upon  whom  the  task  fell  of  keeping  the 
barrier  intact  against  Turkish  aggression.  The 
subjugation  of  the  Crimean  Tartars  by  the 
Turks  in  1475,  however,  followed  by  the  sub- 
mission of  Moldavia  to  Turkish  suzerainty, 
brought  Poland  for  the  first  time  into  direct 
contact  with  Turkey.  How  threatening  the 
Moldavian  situation  wa*s  is  seen  by  the  events 
of  1 53 1.  In  that  year,  without  any  declara- 
tion of  war,  an  army  of  Moldavians  and  Turks 
simply  invaded  Polish  territory.  The  King  was 
quite  unprepared,  the  forces  he  could  command 
few,  and  it  was  very  largely  the  personal  valor 
and  superior  generalship  of  the  Polish  com- 
mander, John  Tarnqwski ,  that  defeated  them. 
It  is  probable  that  the  object  of  this  expedition 
was  to  test  the  strength  of  Poland,  and,  if  suc- 
cessful, it  was  to  be  followed  up  by  a  serious 
attempt  to  conquer  the  country.  The  Turks 
were  now,  under  Suleiman  II,  nearing  the  height 
of  their  power;  they  had  already  crushed  Hun- 
gary and  advanced  to  the  very  walls  of  Vienna. 


82     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

The  King  showed  his  appreciation  of  Tar- 
no  wski's  great  services  by  descending  from  the 
throne  to  welcome  him  when  he  entered  the 
Senate  —  a  unique  distinction  in  the  relations 
between  Polish  kings  and  their  subjects. 

The  situation  on  the  steppe  was  not  less  dis- 
quieting. The  country  from  Kiev  to  the  Black 
Sea,  lying  in  the  arm  of  the  Dnieper,  was  an 
unprotected  wilderness  (it  was  known  as  the 
"Ukraine,"  meaning  "border")  and  offered 
great  advantages  for  Tartar  raids,  which  were 
all  too  frequent  and  very  harmful.  The  Tartars 
kept  a  Polish  army  busy  all  the  time,  but  in 
spite  of  its  presence  the  country  was  in  con- 
stant disturbance  and  many  captives  were 
carried  off  each  year  to  be  sold  as  slaves  in  the 
markets  of  Turkey.  The  Poles  felt  keenly  the 
humiliation  of  this  situation,  as  well  as  its  other 
inconveniences,  and  the  belief  that  the  great 
House  of  Habsburg  would  be  the  best  guardian 
of  both  Hungary  and  Poland  against  the  Turks 
was  the  chief  reason  why  the  King  consented 
to,  and  urged  his  brother,  Wladislaus,  to  accept, 
the  marriage  propositions  of  the  Emperor  Max- 
imilian. By  this  arrangement  the  House  of 
Habsburg,  by  virtue  of  the  marriage  between 
Anne,  only  daughter  of  Wladislaus,  and  Maxi- 
milian's grandson,  Ferdinand,  came  into  pos- 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      83 

session  of  the  thrones  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia 
after  the  death  of  Wladislaus's  only  son,  Louis. 
Sigismund  was  one  of  the  few  statesmen  of 
his  day  who  recognized  the  real  weakness  of 
Hungary  in  spite  of  her  outward  appearance  of 
greatness,  and  he  saw  in  the  Austrian  connec- 
tion the  only  means  of  giving  her  the  strength 
which  would  enable  her  to  continue  to  act  as 
the  barrier  for  Europe  against  the  Turk.  He 
consistently  maintained  this  position  through- 
out his  reign ;  he  refused  the  crown  of  Hungary 
when  it  was  offered  to  him  by  the  opponents 
of  the  Germans  after  the  death  of  his  nephew, 
Louis,  in  1526;  he  refused  also  to  help  his  son- 
in-law,  John  Zapolya  of  Transylvania,  who  ac- 
cepted the  crown  when  Sigismund  refused  it, 
and  fought  a  long  and  terrible  civil  war  to  keep 
it.  This  war  was  ended  by  the  compromise 
Pf^^iTQ^ofGrosswardein,  in  1538,  by  which  John 
was  to  have  the  throne  during  his  lifetime  and 
was  to  be  succeeded  by  Ferdinand  of  Habsburg. 
When  John  died  in  1540,  Sigismund  obliged  his 
sister.  Queen  Isabella  of  Hungary,  to  keep  the 
treaty  and  hand  over  the  kingdom  to  Ferdi- 
nand, though  she  and  a  very  strong  Hunga- 
rian party  wanted  to  put  her  infant  son  on  the 
throne.  The  leaders  of  this  anti-German  party 
were  the  Polish  Primate,  Jan_  Laski,  and  his 


84    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

nephews,  Hieronymus,  Jan,  and  Stanislaus,  all 
of  them  very  powerful  and  very  able.  Their 
activities  were  a  rather  serious  embarrassment 
to  the  King^s  policy  of  Habsburg  friendship,  but 
it  survived  to  the  end  and  was  strengthened  by 
the  marriage  of  Sigismund's  only  son  to  the 
Austrian  Archduchess  Elizabeth.  ^ 

.  .  In  this  reign,  in  1526,  at  the  extinction  of  the 
Piastine  line  of  Masovian  princes,  Masovia  was 
united  with  Poland.  Its  annexation  added  a 
strong  democratic  element  to  Polish  politics 
which  was  of  great  importance  in  the  next 
reign. 

For  the  defense  of  the  Ukraine  against  the 
Tartars  nothing  was  done,  though  the  Lord 
Marcher  Daszkiewicz  had  a  very  admirable  and 
inexpensive  scheme  for  the  organization  of  the 
wandering  bands  of  freebooters  of  the  steppe, 
called  Cossacks,  into  companies  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  border,  and  Queen  Bona,  in  the 
work  that  she  did  for  the  protection  of  her 
private  estates  in  the  Ukraine,  showed  how 
easily  and  how  effectively  such  a  plan  could 
have  been  carried  out.  She  built  two  castles, 
one  at  Bar,  another  at  Krzemieniec.  At  Bar 
she  stationed  her  Steward,  Bernard  Pretficz, 
who  so  successfully  repulsed  the  Tartar  bands 
(he  beat  them  off  seventy  times)  that  thousands 


r 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS       85 


of  colonists  flocked  thither  where  alone  on  all 
the  border  was  life  safe  and  a  living  secure. 
•  Queen  Bona  was  the  second  wife  of  King 
Sigismund;  she  was  an  Italian  of  the  great 
Sforza  family  of  Milan.  Beautiful,  cultivated, 
the  patron  of  the  Renaissance,  she  made  the 
Court  of  Cracow  a  literary  and  artistic  center  * 
of  no  mean  importance.  She  was  very  unpopu- 
lar in  Poland  on  account  of  her  greed  for  both 
money  and  power,  her  entire  unscrupulousness, 
and  her  very  mischievous  influence  over  the 
King  all  during  his  latter  years.  She  is  sus- 
pected of  having  poisoned  her  daughter-in- 
law,  Barbara  Radziwill,  that  her  son  might 
marry  some  one  more  favored  by  herself. 

Sigismund  Augustus,  or  Sigismund  II  (1548- 
1572),  came  to  the  throne  under  the  disadvan- 
tage of  having  to  appoint  almost  all  new  ad- 
visers. A  dozen  or  more  of  the  old  magnate 
families  of  Poland,  Lithuania,  and  Masovia  be- 
came extinct  at  this  time,  and  the  King  had 
to  raise  members  of  the  lesser  nobles  to  posi- 
tions that  had  never  before  been  given  to  their 
families.  The  new  King  did  not,  however,  re- 
gard this  as  a  very  serious  disadvantage.  He 
was  of  a  far  more  yielding  disposition  than  his 
father,  more  interested  in  new  things,  and  more 


86    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

ready  to  welcome  new  ideas.  He  had  much  of 
the  suppleness  of  his  ItaHan  mother's  race  and 
much  of  their  diplomatic  genius,  as  well  as  a 
large  measure  of  the  tenacity  of  purpose  of  the 
Jagiellos.  His  subjects,  a  little  contemptuous 
of  a  king  **  brought  up  by  a  woman,"  the  friend 
of  artists  and  speaking  three  languages  besides 
his  own,  were  surprised  to  find  in  him  a  ruler 
of  firmness,  intelligence,  and  rare  skill  in  the 
management  of  men. 

On  his  first  public  appearance  after  his  fa- 
ther's death  (he  had  been  crowned  during  his 
father's  lifetime),  when  the  Senate  of  Lithuania 
came  together  to  do  homage  to  the  new  ruler, 
he  threw  a  bomb  into  their  midst  by  announc- 
ing his  marriage  with  Barbara  Radziwill,  mem- 
ber of  a  great  Lithuanian  family,  which  had 
taken  place  secretly  some  years  before.  Bar- 
bara was  a  Calvinist,  and  the  daughter  of  the 
leader  of  Lithuanian  Calvinism,  Nicholas  Rad- 
ziwill, called  "the  Black."  As  a  Lithuanian 
she  was  especially  offensive  to  the  Polish  nobles, 
who  wished  the  King  to  marry  a  foreigner  of 
royal  blood,  and  as  a  Calvinist  she  was  anath- 
ema to  the  clergy.  The  King's  first  Diet, 
which  met  in  October,  1548,  at  Piotrkow,  al- 
most unanimously  demanded  that  he  divorce 
Barbara.  John  Tamowski  was  the  only  Sena- 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      87 

tor  who  supported  the  King,  while  the  lower 
House  was  almost  equally  insistent.  To  these 
clamors  the  King  replied  quite  calmly,  "Every 
man  has  the  right  to  choose  his  own  wife ;  why 
cannot  the  King  do  the  same?  Or  does  the 
Christian  religion  allow  me  to  put  away  her 
whom  I  have  wedded?  It  is  for  you  of  the 
clergy,  who  know  better  about  such  things,  to 
convince  your  brethren  on  this  head.  But  I  will 
not  desert  my  wife,  though  she  were  stripped 
of  everything  but  her  shift."  ^  After  a  stormy 
session  the  King  dissolved  the  Diet,  and  issued 
a  "Universal,"  or  appeal  to  the  people  against  j 
the  position  of  the  Diet.    Eighteen  months  ' 

later,  when  his  second  Diet  came  together,  pub-  ' 
lie  opinion  was  so  strongly  with  him  that  not 
a  word  about  his  marriage  was  said ! 

The  szlachta  used  the  opportunity  presented 
by  the  discussion  of  the  King's  marriage  to 
forward  their  plan  of  bringing  the  clergy,  as 
they  had  brought  the  other  classes  of  society, 
under  their  control.  They  had  tried  in  vain  to 
bring  this  about  under  Sigismund  I,  who,  in 
spite  of  his  tolerant  spirit,  remained  to  the  end 
of  his  life  the  stanch  supporter  of  the  rights  of 
the  Church.  When  the  marriage  question  came 
up  the  House  of  Nuncios  asked  the  privilege  of 

*  Quoted  by  Bain,  Slavonic  Europe,  p.  73.  ^ 


88     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

meeting  with  the  King  without  the  presence  of 
the  Senators.  The  Chancellor  objected  that  this 
was  contrary  to  usage,  but  the  King  consented 
to  it,  and  the  meeting  took  place.  Ever  after 
|/  the  Nuncios  considered  it  a  precedent  and  from 
this  time  on  claimed  the  right  to  meet  sepa- 
rately with  the  King,  and  regarded  their  House 
as  possessing  powers  distinct  from  those  of  the 
Diet  as  a  whole.  The  story  goes  also  that  in 
this  famous  interview  the  Nuncios,  in  despair 
of  moving  the  King  concerning  his  marriage, 
fell  upon  their  knees  in  a  body  before  him. 
Greatly  astonished  at  this  unprecedented  oc- 
currence, the  King  rose  from  his  seat  and  took 
off  his  hat.  The  Nuncios  insisted  on  treating 
this  unconscious  act  as  a  precedent  and  de- 
manded that  the  King  always  receive  any  large 
body  of  the  Nuncios  uncovered.  In  the  end 
the  King  was  obliged  to  concede  both  points. 
1  From  this  time  the  Senate  lost  its  legislative 
\  predominance,  which  passed  to  the  lower  House. 
The  more  important  matters  that  came  to  the 
Diet  were  considered  in  joint  session  by  the  two 
Houses,  and  their  superiority  of  numbers  gave 
the  House  of  Nuncios  the  advantage  in  all 
these  sessions.  With  the  military  and  civil 
powers  thus  undermined,  the  King  had  very 
little  to  support  his  authority  except  tradition 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      89 

and  religious  sentiment,  and  both  these  were 
seriously  shaken  by  the  Reformation. 

As  has  been  stated  above,  the  Reformation 
had  entered  Poland  during  the  reign  of  Sigis- 
mund  I,  and  had  made  some  progress,  especially 
in  the  German  parts  of  Poland,  but  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  it  would  have  proved  a  factor  of  great 
importance  had  it  not  been  for  the  szlachta's 
jealousy  of  the  power  of  the  clergy  and  their 
recognition  of  the  reform  movement  as  a 
weapon  with  which  to  destroy  it.  Protestants, 
who  from  conviction  refused  to  pay  tithes,  ques- 
tioned the  jurisdiction  of  the  Church  courts, 
and  objected  to  the  payment  of  annates  and 
other  papal  contributions,  were  supported  by 
the  szlachta  for  political  reasons  irrespective  of 
their  own  religious  convictions,  and  the  very 
worldly  lives  and  lax  faith  of  many  of  the  more 
conspicuous  of  the  Catholic  clergy  won  a  certain 
measure  of  popular  approval  for  the  reformers 
from  those  not  especially  interested  in  the 
political  aspect  of  the  case. 

There  existed  on  the  statute  books  a  number 
of  edicts  against  heresy,  some  of  them  dating 
from  the  last  reign,  others  from  the  period  of 
the  Hussite  movement.  Sigismund  had  no  wish 
to  see  the  Church  weakened  or  the  conservative 
forces  in  the  state  destroyed,  and  just  after  the 


90    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

session  of  the  second  Diet,  in  ij;go,  he  issued 
the  famous  edict  by  which  he  pledged  himself  to 
enforce  the  law  of  the  land  against  heresy  and 
to  maintain  the  privileges  of  the  clergy.  The 
Bishops,  regarding  this  as  permission  to  perse- 
cute, summoned  before  their  courts  many  per- 
sons suspected  of  heresy,  as  well  as  those  who 
had  refused  to  pay  tithes  and  other  Church 
dues.  The  szlachta  were  greatly  alarmed  and  the 
Diet  of  Piotrkow  (January,  1552)  was  a  stormy 
one.  The  nobles  were  a  unit,  Catholic  and 
Protestant  alike,  in  opposition  to  the  rights 
of  bishops  to  summon  them  before  their  courts, 
and  the  opposition  was  so  strong  that  the 
Bishops  were  very  willing  to  accept  the  King's 
compromise  proposal,  which  was  that  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Church  courts  be  suspended  for  a 
year  on  condition  that  the  gentry  continued  to 
pay  their  tithes  during  this  period. 

This  meant  that  there  was  in  Poland  entire 
liberty  to  think,  speak,  and  worship.  The 
Church  could  as  always  decide  upon  the  ortho- 
doxy of  a  doctrine,  and  excommunicate  here- 
tics, but  there  their  power  ceased.  They  could 
neither  try  nor  punish  them.  This  freedom 
was  so  unprecedented  in  the  sixteenth  century 
that  it  drew  to  Poland  reformers  of  every  sect 
and  of  every  shade  of  opinion.    There  were 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      91 

fewer  Lutherans  than  other  sects,  perhaps  be- 
cause of  its  German  character;  but  Calvin- 
ists  were  very  numerous  and  Socinians,  Unita- 
rians, and  Waldensians  were  all  represented. 
There  was  also  a  group  that  favored  a  National 
Church  on  Catholic  lines,  similar  to  the  Eng- 
lish Church  under  Henry  VHI.  The  great 
majority  of  the  Polish  nobles,  the  greater  as 
well  as  the  lesser,  were  Protestant  during  the 
reign  of  Sigismund  Augustus. 

In  Lithuania,  especially,  Nicholas  Radziwill 
the  Black,  Palatine  of  Wilna  and  Chancellor  of 
Lithuania,  who  became  an  ardent  Calvinist, 
devoted  his  fortune  as  well  as  his  enormous  in- 
fluence to  advancing  the  cause,  and  succeeded 
in  bringing  over  not  only  all  the  great  families, 
Orthodox  as  well  as  Roman  Catholic,  but  many 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  as  well.  It  is 
said  that  in  Samogitia  there  were  left  only  ten 
Catholic  clergymen.  Radziwill  spent  vast  sums 
building  Calvinist  churches  and  colleges  and 
having  the  Bible  translated  into  Polish.  This 
translation,  known  as  the  **  Radziwill  Bible," 
was  printed  in  1564.  It  is  now  a  very  rare  book 
because  the  son  of  Radziwill,  converted  back  to 
Catholicism,  bought  up,  in  so  far  as  he  could, 
the  whole  edition  and  had  the  books  publicly 
burned  in  Wilna. 


92    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

The  result  of  the  Protestantism  of  the  nobil- 
ity was  that  the  Diets  were  overwhelmingly 
Protestant,  and  from  1552  to  1559  they  made 
a  strong  effort  to  set  up  a  National  Reformed 
Church.  The  suspension  of  the  ecclesiastical 
courts  was  indefinitely  prolonged  and  most 
drastic  proposals  of  reform  were  made,  such  as 
the  exclusion  of  the  Bishops  from  the  Senate, 
and  the  calling  of  a  synod  to  reform  the  Church, 
to  which  not  only  representatives  of  all  sects 
within  the  kingdom  were  to  be  summoned,  but 
to  which  all  the  chief  reformers  of  Europe  were 
to  be  invited  —  Calvin,  Melanchthon,  Beza,  and 
Vergerius. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  was  saved  from 
this  very  grave  danger  by  practically  one  man, 
Stanislaus  Bezdany,  or,  as  he  is  better  known, 
Hosius,  the  Grand  Cardinal,  who  roused  the 
Papacy  to  undertake  the  Counter- Reformation 
and  finally  introduced  into  Poland  the  newly 
formed  Society  of  Jesus,  actively  to  combat 
heresy.  Nowhere  did  the  Jesuits  achieve  a 
more  conspicuous  success,  perhaps  because  the 
masses  of  the  people  both  in  Poland  and  in 
Lithuania  were  untouched  by  the  reform  move- 
ment, and  the  Jesuits  had  chiefly  the  upper 
classes  to  conquer.  They  .ended  by  wiping  out 
all  sectarianism,  getting  possession  of  all  the 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      93 

schools,  and  becoming  the  dominating  politi- 
cal influence. 

The  King  was  very  favorable  to  the  reform- 
ers, and  some  writers  believe  that  had  he  lived 
longer  he  would  have  established  a  National 
Reformed  Church.  But  his  chief  concern  was 
to  keep  his  kingdom  at  peace  and  save  it  from 
the  horrors  of  civil  wars  of  religion  such  as  were 
devastating  western  Europe.  His  attitude  and 
his  enlightenment  are  well  expressed  in  the 
following  words  in  which  he  gives  his  reasons 
for  granting  permission  to  the  Protestants  to 
build  a  church  in  Cracow :  — 

"Considering  the  great  calamities  to  which 
the  largest  and  most  flourishing  Christian 
countries  have  recently  been  exposed,  because 
their  kings  and  princes  have  tried  to  suppress 
the  different  religious  opinions  which  have 
arisen  in  our  own  time,  we  have  resolved  to 
prevent  these  dangers  .  .  .  from  disturbing  the 
peace  and  security  of  our  realms,  and  from  caus- 
ing such  excitement  of  the  minds  of  people  as 
would  produce  a  civil  war,  particularly  as  we 
have  become  convinced,  by  the  example  of  other 
countries  in  which  so  much  Christian  blood  has 
been  shed,  that  such  severities  are  not  only 
useless  but  even  most  injurious." 
'    To   keep  the  peace,  to  reform  abuses  in 


94    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

public  administration,  and  to  transform  the 
somewhat  unstable  personal  union  of  Poland 
and  Lithuania  into  a  real  legislative  union  strong 
enough  to  withstand  the  pressure  of  dangers 
from  without,  —  these  were  his  ideals  and  to 
these  he  devoted  his  life.  The  union  of  the  two 
states  was  achieved,  only  a  short  three  years 
before  his  death,  by  the  *' Union  of  Lublin"  in 
1569.  From  1386  the  unionof  Poland  andXMr=~ 
Cania  had  been  personal  only^  EaciTcountry 
had  its  own  Diet  and  was  governed  quite  sepa- 
rately from  the  other.  The  point  of  union  was 
that  the  hereditary  Grand  Duke  of  Lithuania 
was  always  elected  King  of  Poland.'  This  was 
of  great  advantage  to  Poland,  as,  though  in 
theory  an  elective  monarchy,  in  practice  she 
had  an  hereditary  kingship  during  these  im- 
portant years,  and  there  were  none  of  the  con- 
tested elections  that  tore  Poland  to  pieces  in 
later  centuries.  By  the  Union  of  Lublin  the  two 
Diets  became  one,  though  each  country  kept  its 
own  separate  army,  court,  laws,  and  adminis- 
tration. In  order  to  meet  the  objections  to  the 
union  based  upon  the  inequalities  of  the  two 
countries,  the  King  resigned  his  hereditary 
rights  to  the  throne  of  Lithuania,  which  be- 
came thereupon  elective  as  Poland's  was,  and 
he  extended  to  the  members  of  the  Lithuanian 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      95 

Diet  (far  less  privileged  than  the  Polish)  all 
the  Polish  rights  and  liberties.  Henceforth  the 
common  Diet  with  the  King  ruled  the  country. 

The  jealousy  that  existed  between  the  two 
countries  led  to  the  choice  of  a  new  place  of 
meeting  for  the  united  Diet,  and  thus  the  crea- 
tion of  a  new  capital,  Warsaw.  As  this  town  was 
in  the  Duchy  of  Masovia,  only  recently  united 
to  Poland,  it  was  neither  Polish  nor  Lithuanian 
and  thus  satisfactory  to  both  countries.  From 
this  time  on  all  the  kings  of  Poland  were  elected 
on  the  field  of  Pola  near  Warsaw,  and  lived  in 
Warsaw.  But  they  were  always  crowned  and 
buried  at  Cracow,  Poland's  old  capital. 

One  of  the  most  important  events  of  the 
reign  was  the  acquisition  of  Livonia.  When,  in 
1466  at  the  Peace  of  Thorn,  the  Teutonic  Or- 
der became  subject  to  the  King  of  Poland,  the 
Knights  of  the  Sword  refused  to  accept  the 
treaty  and  reverted  to  their  original  condition 
of  a  separate  order,  their  Grand  Master  taking 
the  place  of  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Teutonic 
Order  in  the  German  Diet.  Under  the  Grand 
Master  Walter  von  Plattburg,  the  Knights  of 
the  Sword  fought  long  and  vigorously  against 
Muscovy,  and  in  1502  made  a  truce  for  fifty 
years.  During  these  years  the  Reformation 
spread  throughout  Livonia,  including  cunong 


96    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

its  converts  the  Grand  Master  and  most  of  the 
Knights.  During  this  same  period  also  it  lost 
much  of  its  military  vigor  and  thus  became 
politically  powerless  at  the  very  time  that  its 
commercial  importance  was  making  its  con- 
quest an  ever  greater  temptation  to  the  growing 
powers  on  its  borders,  Sweden,  Muscovy,  and 
Poland,  all  of  whom  were  reaching  out  eagerly 
toward  the  Baltic.  The  end  of  the  truce  with 
Muscovy  and  the  refusal  of  Ivan  IV  to  renew 
it,  except  on  terms  that  Livonia  hesitated  to 
accept,  led  to  the  invasion  of  the  country  by 
Ivan.  The  Knights  appealed  to  Poland  for 
help  and  by  the  Treaties  of  Wilna  (1559)  placed 
themselves  under  Polish  protection.  .Their  two 
southern  provinces,  Semigallia  and  Courland, 
were  made  into  an  hereditary  Grand  Duchy  for 
the  last  Grand  Master,  Gothard  von  Ketler, 
who  became  a  vassal  of  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Lithuania.  Their  most  northerly  province, 
Esthonia,  became  a  part  of  Sweden  at  this  time, 
and  John,  Duke  of  Finland,  the  heir  to  the 
Swedish  throne,  was  married  in  1562  to  Catha- 
rine, the  fourth  sister  of  King  Sigismund.  The 
treaty  which  contained  these  arrangements 
was  of  great  importance.  By  it  Sweden  and 
Poland  were  united  in  common  opposition  to 
Muscovite  ambition  to  reach   and   rule  the 


THE  ERA  OF  GREATNESS      97 

Baltic,  and  Poland  for  the  first  time  in  her  his- 
tory had  the  opportunity  to  make  herself  a  sea 
power.  The  marriage  of  Catharine  and  John 
Vasa,  Duke  of  Finland,  also  was  to  provide  a 
new  line  of  kings  for  Poland.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  meant  war  with  Muscovy,  and  the 
truce  which  closed  the  war  in  1569  left  Polotsk 
in  the  hands  of  the  Muscovite,  just  as  in  the 
reign  of  Sigismund  I,  Smolensk  had  been  left  in 
her  hands.  Thus  slowly  but  ever  surely  Mus- 
covy pressed  on. 

Under  Sigismund  Augustus,  Poland  reached 
the  height  of  her  prosperity.  Territorially  great 
and  fairly  well  governed,  her  towns  prosperous 
and  still  enjoying  the  greater  part  of  their 
liberties,  commerce  and  industry  feeling  an 
enormous  impulse  from  the  settlement  in  the 
country  of  skilled  artisans  whom  religious  per- 
secutions had  driven  thither,  the  depression  of 
the  agricultural  classes  was  not  yet  observable, 
and  there  were  few  signs  to  show  that  the  be- 
ginning of  a  sure  decline  was  so  near. 

The  Jagiellon  period  is  also  Poland's  great 
literary  age.  Her  language  during  this  period 
took  on  its  modern  literary  form,  and  a  great 
national  literature  gave  it  permanence  and  ex- 
pressed the  nation's  sense  of  its  own  expanding 
life. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  ELECTIVE  MONARCHY 
THE   ERA  OF   DECLINE,  I572-I763^_ 

When  King  Sigismund  died  in  July,  1572, 
without  direct  heirs,  the  crown,  always  elective 
in  theory,  became  so  in  fact,  and  the  nation 
had  to  choose  a  king. 

It  was  two  hundred  years  since  Poland  had 
had  an  interregnum,  there  was  no  authority 
legally  constituted  to  act  in  such  an  emergency, 
and  just  at  first  no  one  seemed  to  know  exactly 
what  to  do.  The  general  confusion  and  dis- 
order were  so  great  that  the  King^s  mistress  was 
able  to  run  off  with  the  crown  jewels  and  all 
the  royal  treasure,  so  that  the  dead  king  lay  in 
state  in  borrowed  jewels  and  in  clothes  much 
wanting  in  sumptuousness.  Factions  among  the 
nobility,  partly  religious,  partly  personal,  not 
only  prevented  any  common  action  in  this 
crisis,  but,  on  the  contrary,  led  the  kingless 
country  to  the  verge  of  civil  war,  as  no  group 
was  willing  that  any  other  should  take  the  lead. 
Finally,  however,  all  factions  came  together  in 
the  Convocation  Diet  which  met  in  January, 
^573'  This^Ciet  enacted  that  during  an  inter- 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE        99 

regnum  the  Primate  should  act  as  Interrex  and 
call  the  Diets,  and  that  the  Grand  Marshal 
should  govern  in  the  name  of  the  Primate  and 
the  Senate.  It  also  arranged  religious  differences 
by  a  law  which  put  all  Christian  religions  on  an 
exact  legal  equality.  Finally  it  set  the  meeting 
of  the* Election  Diet  for  April,  1573.  On  the 
motion  of  John  Zamoyski  it  was  also  decided, 
amid  great  enthusiasm,  that  the  king  should  be 
elected,  not  by  the  regular  Diet,  but  by  all  the 
szlachta;  that  is,  that  each  noble  should  attend 
and  cast  his  vote  in  person.  This  motion  was 
the  foundation  of  Zamoyski*s  enormous  popu- 
larity and  influence  with  the  nobility,  which 
made  him  the  most  powerful  person  in  the  re- 
public during  the  next  twenty-five  years.  He 
favored  the  vote  en  masse  because  it  indicated 
the  complete  equality  of  the  nobility  —  an  idea 
for  which  he  stood  consistently  all  his  life  long. 
It  is  not  improbable,  however,  that  the  sug- 
gestion of  this  method  of  electing  a  king  was 
made  by  the  French  Ambassador  Montluc. 
He  was  already  busy  gathering  votes  for  the 
French  candidate  to  the  vacant  throne,  the 
Duke  of  Anjou,  brother  of  the  French  King, 
and,  as  he  found  the  lesser  nobles  much  the 
easier  to  win  over,  it  was  to  his  interest  to  have 
as  many  of  them  as  possible  at  the  election. 


100    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

There  were  other  foreign  Powers  beside 
France  who  aspired  to  the  Polish  throne  on  this 
occasion.  Ivan  IV  of  Muscovy,  the  King  of 
Sweden,  and  the  Duke  of  Prussia  were  all  can- 
didates, while  the  Emperor  Maximilian  II  put 
forward  his  son  the  Archduke  Ernest.  The 
sentiment  in  Poland,  however,  was  very  general 
for  a  **Piast"  or  native  Pole.  When  the  Elec- 
tion Diet  came  together,  the  Protestants,  who 
were  in  a  majority,  brought  forward  the  name 
of  John  Firley,  Grand  Marshal  and  leader  of  the 
Polish  Calvinists.  But  the  opposition  of  two 
powerful  Lutheran  families,  the  Zborowskis 
and  the  Gorkas,  so  divided  the  Protestant  vote 
that  his  election  was  impossible.  The  Papal 
Legate  then  very  skillfully  intervened  and  got 
the  Zborowskis  to  support  his  Catholic  candi- 
date, the  Archduke  Ernest.  Perceiving,  how- 
ever, that  the  feeling  against  the  Habsburgs 
was  so  strong  that  the  Archduke  could  not  be 
elected,  he  threw  his  influence  to  the  support  of 
the  Duke  of  Anjou,  who  was  finally  chosen. 

A  worse  choice  could  scarcely  have  been 
made ;  Anjou  had  no  interest  in  Poland  and  was 
wholly  unsuited,  both  as  regards  character  and 
political  ideas,  to  reign  there.  He  was  simply 
the  instrument  used  by  the  French  Government 
to  enlist  Poland's  support  in  the  task  of  crush- 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       i^t 

ing  the  Habsburg  Power.  It  was  the  zeal'.aad: 
ability  of  the  French  Ambassador,  and  his  un- 
limited use  of  both  money  and  promises,  that 
secured  enough  influence  to  carry  the  election 
for  France. 

Before  electing  the  king  the  szlachta  under 
Protestant  leadership  had  **  safeguarded  the 
future  of  their  liberties"  by  preparing  a  pacta 
convpita  to  which  Henry  of  Anjou  and  succeed- 
ing kings  had  to  swear,  and  which  took  _aa^v 
most  of  the  attribirtes,^ofj;gyalty.  By  this  the 
king  agreed  not  to  name  his  successor,  neither 
to  marry  nor  divorce  his  wife,  neither  to  declare 
war  nor  send  ambassadors  to  foreign  courts,  nor 
to  levy  taxes,  without  the  approyaLof  the  Diet; 
he  agreed  also  to  govern  through  a  perma- 
nent council  of  fourteen  Senators  chosen  by  the 
Diet,  four  of  whom  should  always  be  with  him ; 
to  call  the  Diet  for  a  six  weeks'  session  every 
two  years;  to  keep  the  peace  between  religious 
sects  and  to  protect  them  all  equally.  The  pacta 
included  also  a  provision  that  if  the  king  failed 
to  keep  his  oath  in  regard  to  any  of  these  points, 
the  nation,  after  duly  warning  him,  was  released 
from  its  obedience  and  at  liberty  to  rebel  against 
him. 

The  new  King  did  not  at  all  like  these  con- 
ditions and  had  no  great  wish  to  take  up  his  new 


102    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

duties.  It  was  six  months  after  the  election  be- 
fore he  reached  Poland,  and  when  he  arrived  he 
entered  at  once  into  the  schemes  of  the  extreme 
Catholics  to  omit  the  most  obnoxious  clauses 
of  the  oath  (which  he  had  already  sworn  to  in 
Paris)  from  the  coronation  ceremony,  and  thus* 
leave  him  a  pretext  on  which  to  disregard  them. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  crown  was  about  to  be 
placed  on  his  head  with  no  word  said  about  re- 
ligious liberty  when  Firley  and  the  Chancel- 
lor Dembrinski  stepped  forward  and  refused  to 
allow  the  ceremony  to  proceed  unless  the  King 
took  the  whole  oath.  Firley  took  the  crown  in 
his  own  hands  and  said  in  loud  voice,  "If  you  will 
not  swear  you  shall  not  reign."  Thus  coerced, 
the  King  took  the  oath,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  he 
would  have  kept  it  very  long,  and  the  death  of 
his  brother  in  June,  1574,  and  his  own  succes- 
sion to  the  throne  of  France,  probably  saved 
Poland  a  civil  war.  As  soon  as  he  heard  of 
his  bro therms  death,  Henry  was  eager  to  get  to 
France  and  take  up  his  new  honors,  but  he 
could  not  leave  Poland  without  the  consent  of 
the  Diet  and  it  took  time  to,  get  the  Diet  to- 
gether, so  he  resolved  to  run  away!  Late  at 
night,  after  a  great  court  entertainment,  he  left 
the  castle  by  a  private  passage  from  his  own 
rooms,  found  some  French  attendants  who  had 


THE  ERA  OF   DECLINE       103 

provided  horses  for  him,  and  by  riding  all  night 
was  able  to  cross  the  frontier  into  Silesia  before 
morning.  A  deputation  of  Polish  noblemen  was 
sent  after  him  to  beg  him  to  return,  but  no 
amount  of  persuasion  would,  induce  him  to 
resi^ne_so:thorny  a_crown. 

He  was  formally  deposed  in  May,  1575,  and 
Poland  was  obliged  to  choose  another  king. 
But  party  antagonism  was  even  worse  in  this 
than  in  the  previous  interregnum,  and  it  seemed 
as  though  agreement  on  any  one  candidate  was 
an  impossibility.  Just  at  this  point  a  terrible 
Tartar  raid,  which  laid  waste  the  rich  fields  of 
the  Ukraine  and  took  away  fifty  thousand  cap- 
tives, brought  home  to  the  Poles  the  necessity 
for  a  king  and  a  government  even  if  the  king 
was  not  just  the  person  of  their  choice.  The 
Election  Diet  met  at  Warsaw  in  November, 
1575,  and  after  only  a  month  of  discussion  and 
delay,  StephenJBatpry^Erince  of  Transylvania, 
was  electedking  by  the  Zs^,  or  House  of  Nun- 
cios, after  two  Piasts  had  been  offered,  and 
had  prudently  declined,  the  honor.  The  Senate, 
meanwhile,  had  yielded  to  the  influence  of  the 
PapalLegate^  andLelected  the-Emperor  Maxi- 
milian. As  neither  king-elect  was  inclined  to 
yield,  the  death  of  Maximilian  relieved  a  diffi- 
cult situation  and  made  Stephen's  throne  secure. 


104    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

The  affection  of  the  country  for  the  Jagiellon 
family  had  made  Stephen's  election  conditional 
upon  his  marrying  theJPrincess  Anna,  sister  of 
Sigismund  Augustus,  which  he  did,  and  she  was 
crowned  with  him  May  i,  1576. 

Danzig  alone  in  the  whole  country  objected 
to  the  new  monarch.  **The  Pearl  of  Poland'* 
favored  the  Emperor  on  account  of  her  trade 
which  the  burghers  believed  the  German  con- 
nection would  greatly  enhance.  So  she  shut  her 
gates  and  refused  to  recognize  Stephen,  who 
spent  the  first  six  months  of  his  reign  besieging 
the  city.  After  its  surrender  the  King  imposed 
a  heavy  fine,  but  removed  all  rancor  by  wisely 
confirming  all  privileges  and  immunities. 
This  task  accomplished,  the  King  was  free  to 
f^  give  his  attention  to  foreign  affairs  which  were 
l^,  both  critical  and  delicate.  Tartars  and  Mus- 
covites were  invading  Polish  territory  and  the 
szlachta  were  clamorous  for  the  restoration  of 
peace,  but  were  quite  unable  to  see  that  the 
only  way  to  get  it  was  to  conquer  both  enemies. 
In  all  of  Europe  the  Poles  could  have  found  no 
one  better  fitted  than  King  Stephen  to  deal 
with  the  situation.  As  Prince  of  Transylvania, 
he  had  filled  a  difficult  and  precarious  throne 
where  the  continued  existence  of  the  independ- 
ence of  his  country  depended  upon  his  exact 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       105 

knowledge  of  the  policies  of  Europe,  and  his         U^ 
ability  to  play  one  power  against  another  and  r^^i 
gain  from  all.  No  monarch  in  Europe  was  more   ,  «/^\'C 
intimately  informed  as  to  the  conditions  and    ^«^ 
policies  of  both  Turkey  and  Muscovy  as  well 
as  those  of  the  Western  Powers.  Of  Slav  origin 
himself  he  spoke  the  Polish  language  fluently, 
and  understood,  perhaps  instinctively,  the  Pol- 
ish character.   Not  being  known  in  Poland  all 
factions  believed  him  favorable  to  them,  and 
Stephen  skillfully  avoided  committing  himself 
on  irritating  questions  and  used  his  popularity 
to  get  things  done. 

His foreignpolicy wasjdirectl:^LoppQsed toJLhe  .       /( 
non-intervention  sentiment  of  jthe  szlacbta.  To  T*  <.rr^ 
him  It  was  an  obvious  fact  that  Muscovy  and  ^^^  X*^ 
Turkey  menaced  the  future  existence  of  Poland 
as  a  great  state.  The  Turks  in  alliance  with  the  f.s.  '^  j^; 
Crimean  Tartars  had  cut  Poland's  communi-    "^"^  1; 
cations  with  the  Black  Sea,  were  a  constant  o^^*" 
menace  to  her  southern  provinces,  and  had  al-  >'*^ 
ready  torn  away  from  Polish  influence  the  prin-         ^ 
cipalities  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia;  while  the  ^^\  ^ 
realization  of  Muscovy's  claims  on  all  the  Rus-  ^    ^/ 
sian  parts  of  Lithuania,  and  of  her  ambitions  ^*^^^ 
to  reach  and  control  the  Baltic  coast,  would  re-  I*  *  --^ 
duce  Poland  to  a  land-locked  state  of  small  a^^^'j^J: 
dimensions  and  little  importance.   He  had  no  ^ 


io6    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

idea  of  submitting  to  these  conditions.  On  the 
contrary,  he  meant  to  destrny  th^  Mngmyitp 
Empire  andjdrive  the  Turk  from  Europe.  As, 
however,  the  Turkish  question  was  a  European 
matter  and  needed  time  to  arrange,  he  made  a 
temporary  peace.  He  continued  the  subsidies 
paid  to  the  Tartars  by  Sigismund  II,  on  condi- 
tion that  they  keep  the  peace  with  Poland  and 
serve  her  in  case  of  war.  He  then  turned  his 
attention  to  Muscovy. 

Under  Ivan  III  and  his  son,  Vasily  III,  Mus- 
covy had  thrown  off  the  Tartar  yoke,  gathered 
most  of  the  Russian  "lands "  under  her  rule,  and 
under  Ivan  IV  had  conquered  the  Tartar  strong- 
holds of  Kazan  and  Astrakan,  which  had  con- 
tinually threatened  her  on  the  southeast.  With 
their  conquest  the  Volga  became  a  Russian 
river,  and  all  the  region  of  the  Caspian  and  be- 
yond lay  open  to  the  expanding  might  of  the 
youthful  Russian  state.  But  Ivan,  like  Peter 
the  Great  after  him,  saw  that  Russia  must  be 
in  contact  with  the  West  if  she  would  be  great, 
and  he  fixed  his  eyes  on  Livonia,  which  would 
give  him  a  Baltic  outlet  with  towns,  fortresses, 
and  western  European  trade.  His  failure  to 
achieve  it  and  its  subsequent  annexation  to  Po- 
land has  been  considered  in  a  previous  chapter. 
In  the  anarchy  in  Poland  which  followed  Sigis- 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE  .    107 

mund's  death,  Ivan  saw  an   opportunity  to  yv***^-^ 
win  it  back,  and  in  1575  he  invaded  the  country,  ao"^  ^*  > 
It  was  not  until  1579  that  Stephen  could  go      ^ 
against  him,  but  in  that  year  he  declared  war  ctif^'^ 
and  led  an  army  into  Livonia  to  drive  out  the  t^^  ^ 
Muscovites  and  conquer  Polo(5£,  which  would  ^f  t*^  " 
keep    open    Livonia^s    communications    with  ^^'^^ 
Lithuania.  The  Diet  had,  quite  characteristi-    V*      \ 
cally,  refused  to  make  any  grant  for  the  war, 
but  now,  as  all  through  his  reign,  Stephen  car- 
ried out  his  plans  without  much  reference  to  -. 
the  Diet  and  found  the  money  somehow.    It    ^o*^ 
took   three   campaigns,  lasting   nearly   three    \ 
years,  to  induce  the-^iRar  to  cede  Livonia  and  \,^^^ 
Polock,  but  Stephen  accomplished  it,  though 
he  had  to  borrow  from  the  Electors  of  Saxony        ^^ 
and  Brandenburg,  and  from  his  vassal  the  Duke  ^    ^  ^ 
of  Prussia,  in  order  to  pay  his  soldiers.    His  ^^ 
army  was  largely  mercenaries,  Hungarian  and  V<^*^ 
German,  but  he  had  also  an  army  sent  by  his 
brother,  the  Prince  of  Transylvania,  and  a 
number  of  the  great  nobles,  won  over  to  the 
King  by  his  genius  and  character,  sent  him 
their  private  armies.    The  King  also  added  a 
number  of  regiments  of  infantry  to  the  Polish 
army.  As  the  nobles  refused  to  serve  except  as 
cavalry,  the  King  enrolled  the  peasants  on  the 
crown  lands  as  infantry,  freeing  them  and  their 


io8    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

posterity  from  certain  dues  when  they  enHsted, 
and  after  three  campaigns  making  them  en- 
tirely free.    The  King  also  made  a  point  of 
ennobling  those  who  distinguished  themselves, 
with  the  result  that  the  infantry  became  both 
an  effective  and  popular  branch  of  the  service. 
The    szlachta    were    more    dismayed    than 
pleased  or  grateful  over  the  King's  victories. 
They  accused  him  of  all  sorts  of  evil  conduct 
and  ambitions,  but  the  peasants  recognized  his 
greatness.   When  he  returned  to  Poland  after 
.  ^JL   his  second  victory  over  Ivan  IV,  he  was  received 
1  as  a  hero  by  the  peasants  all  along  his  journey, 

^^  ^     whole  villages  turning  out  to  greet  him.  When 
-*>  he  reached  Warsaw,  all  the  bells  were  ringing 

and  the  people  insisted  that  the  great  bell  of 
Warsaw  distinctly  pronounced  the  name  of 
King  Stephen !  Even  the  Diet,  which  had  pre- 
viously resolved  not  to  grant  him  a  penny,  was 
carried  away  by  the  general  enthusiasm  and 
j/k  ^^ade  him  quite  a  decent  grant. 
^'X,  The  death  of  Ivan  IV,  shortly  after  the  sign- 

^  P,  ^  ing  of  the  Truce  of  Zapolsk  (January,  1582) 
ivtf^**  which  gave  Livonia  and  Polock  to  Poland,  gave 
><*r  King  Stephen  hopes  of  carrying  out  a  great 
European  scheme  of  conquering  Muscovy  al- 
•s  together  and  incorporating  it  with  Poland, 
^  uniting  Poland  and  Hungary,  and  driving  the 


"<^ 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       109 

Turk  from  Europe.  The  Pope,  Sixtus  V,  to 
whom  he  opened  his  scheme,  had  agreed  to 
furnish  the  money  for  the  enterprise,  and  ne- 
gotiations with  Austria,  which  was  to  have  1^, 
Transylvania  as  the  price  of  assistance,  and 
with  Denmark,  were  already  under  way  when 
the  King  fell  ill  and  died  very  suddenly. 

The  lawlessness  of  the  magnates  and  the 
absence  of  all  responsibility  for  the  public  wel- 
fare on  the  part  of  the  szlachta,  in  whose  hands 
all  the  powers  lay,  convinced  King  Stephen  as 
they  had  convinced  other  kings  that  some  re- 
form of  the  Constitution  was  essential  to  any 
future  development  of  the  country,  and  he 
was  on  the  point  of  submitting  a  programme 
of  reform  to  the  Diet  as  a  necessary  prelimi- 
nary to  his  big  foreign  adventure,  when  he 
died. 

All  during  his  reign  he  combated  lawlessness 
in  high  places.  He  insisted  on  obedience  to  the 
law  from  all  men  of  all  ranks,  and  stood  solidly 
behind  all  his  officials  who  found  it  difficult, 
sometimes  even  dangerous,  to  enforce  it.  The 
famous  case  of  Samuel  Zborowski  is  a  typical 
instance  of  this  sort.  During  the  reign  of  King 
Henry  this  representative  of  one  of  the  great- 
est and  also  the  most  lawless  of  Polish  magnate 
families  stabbed  and  killed  a  Senator  within  the 


no    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

precincts  of  the  royal  castle,  and  by  the  clem- 
ency of  the  King  was  exiled,  merely,  instead 
of  hanged  as  the  law  provided.  Under  King 
Stephen  he  returned  to  Poland  and  lived  openly 
in  Cracow.  Zamoyski,  as  Starost  of  Cracow, 
warned  him  to  go  or  he  would  be  arrested  and 
executed  according  to  the  law.  Zborowski  im- 
pudently ignored  the  warning,  and  Zamoyski 
arrested  him  and  after  a  trial  of  scrupulous 
fairness  over  which  the  King  himself  presided, 
he  was  condemned  and  executed  (1584).  His 
family  at  once  sought  vengeance.  They  came 
to  the  Diet  of  1585,  to  which  they  had  referred 
their  cause,  with  a  great  army  of  retainers  de- 
termined to  overawe  both  Diet  and  King.  But 
the  King  and  Zamoyski  also  brought  troops 
and,  with  a  determination  quite  equal  to  theirs, 
carried  on  the  struggle  in  the  Diet  and  won  from 
that  body  not  only  confirmation  of  the  justice 
of  SamueFs  execution,  but  the  banishment  of 
Christopher  Zborowski,  Samuel's  companion 
in  lawlessness  and  treason.  Much  of  the  dis- 
affection of  the  Zborowski  was  the  result  of 
their  personal  antagonism  to  Zamoyski,  their 
jealousy  of  the  power  given  him,  and  the  per- 
sonal favor  shown  him  by  King  Stephen.  This 
antagonism  was  increased  a  hundred-fold  by 
the  events  just  recorded  and  was  one  of  the 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       in 

chief  elements  of  disorder  in  the  early  part  of 
the  next  reign. 

In  religious  matters  the  King  was  himself 
a  Catholic,  but  was  entirely  tolerant.  He  be- 
stowed favors  and  rewards  with  absolute  dis- 
regard of  religious  lines  and  repressed  intoler- 
ance in  others  with  severity.  Friends  and  foes 
agree  that  Stephen  was  a  great  ruler.  "There 
was  no  kind  of  glory  which  Poland  did  not 
possess  under  him/'  and  the  all-too-short  ten 
years  of  his  reign  had  shown  what  Poland 
might  be  under  a  king  who  was  able  to  give 
her,  whether  she  wanted  it  or  not,  strong  and 
efficient  government. 

In  all  his  undertakings,  whether  of  war  or  of 
peace,  John  Zamoyski  was  the  King's  right- 
hand  man,  almost,  indeed,  his  second  self.  Za- 
moyski's  personal  qualities  endeared  him  to  the 
King,  who  married  him  to  his  niece,  Griselda, 
and  took  him  into  his  personal  intimacy,  while 
his  preeminent  abilities  as  general,  statesman, 
and  administrator,  and  his  great  influence  with 
the  szlachtay  made  him  an  invaluable  public 
servant.  The  greatest  offices  in  the  gift  of  the 
Crown  were  bestowed  upon  him,  and  he  exer- 
cised an  authority  such  as  no  citizen  had  ever 
had  before.  As  Castellan  of  Cracow  he  was  the 
first  of  the  lay  Senators;  as  Starost  of  the  same 


112    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

province  he  had  criminal  jurisdiction  over  all 
Little  Poland ;  as  Grand  Hetman  of  the  Crown 
he  was  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army,  while 
as  Chancellor  he  was  the  Keeper  of  the  Great 
Seal,  the  guardian  of  the  Constitution, 

There  is  no  question  of  the  value  of  his  serv- 
ices to  Poland,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  was 
extremely  jealous  of  his  dignity,  far  from  scru- 
pulous in  his  methods,  and  all  too  prone  to  regard 
opposition  to  his  policies  as  treachery  to  the 
State.  It  is  small  wonder  that  he  had  enemies 
besides  the  Zborowski,  and  of  quite  a  different 
sort,  and,  natural  enough,  that  all  of  them 
should  join  together  after  the  death  of  King 
Stephen  in  an  attempt  to  curtail  his  power. 
The  Primate  Karnkowski,  an  old  man  of  sev- 
enty, and  completely  under  the  influence  of 
the  Zborowski,  wrote  to  Zamoyski,  who  was  in 
the  Ukraine  with  the  army,  not  to  come  to  the 
Convocation  Diet,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the 
election  of  the  new  king  could  take  place  with- 
out him.  Zamoyski,  however,  had  quite  other 
intentions,  and  when  the  Election  Diet  met  in 
June,  1587,  he  was  not  only  there,  but  he  had 
the  whole  southern  army  with  him. 

There  were  three  important  candidates  for 
the  throne  on  this  occasion:  the  Czar  of  Mus- 
covy, the  Archduke  Maximilian,  brother  of  the 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       113 

Emperor  Rudolph  II,  and  Sigismund_V^asa,  son 
of  King  John  of  Sweden  and  of  Catharine  Jagi- 
ello,  sister  of  Sigismund  II.  Zamoyski  supported 
the  claims  of  the  Swedish  prince,  and  his  in- 
fluence was,  perhaps,  the  decisive  factor  in  the 
election.  The  Zborowski  and  their  faction  were 
in  favor  of  Maximilian,  while  the  majority  of 
the  Lithuanians  supported  the  Czar.   Factional 

\  feelings  had  never  been  so  bitter,  and  all  the 
factions  came  with  armies  behind  them  ^  so  that 
the  field  of  election  was  a  great  armed  camp. 
This  had,  indeed,  been  true  of  the  elections  of 
both  Henry  of  Valois  and  of  Stephen  Batory, 
but  in  neither  case  were  the  numbers  or  the  ani- 
mosities so  great.  The  remark  of  a  foreign 
observer  about  the  election  of  Henry  of  Valois, 
that  it  looked  far  more  like  an  assemblage 
**come  together  to  conquer  a  foreign  kingdom 
than  to  dispose  of  their  own,"  was  equally 
applicable  here. 

^  The  Primate  Kamkowski,  after  long  delay, 
finally  took  the  side  of  the  Swedish  prince, 
partly  because  he  was  the  popular  candidate 
(the  majority  of  the  Poles  supported  him  on 
account  of  his  Jagiellon  blood  and  because  his 
election  would  mean  a  close  alliance  of  Sweden 

*  The  Zborowski  had  ten  thousand  foreign  mercenaries  sent 
by  the  Archduke  as  well  as  the  private  armies  of  their  Polish 
supporters. 


114    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

and  Poland  against  Muscovy),  partly  also  be- 
cause he  feared  that  under  Austrian  rule  Poland 
would  lose  her  liberties  and  be  drawn  into  war 
against  the  Turks  in  the  interests  of  Austria. 
He  therefore  proposed  Sigismund  in  the  Senate. 
At  this  Zborowski  led  out  his  troops.  Zamoy- 
ski  did  likewise  and  a  battle  seemed  inevitable 
when  the  Prirnate,  old  and  infirm  asjiejwas, 
mounted  a  horse  and  rode  alone  between  the 
lines  and  besought  them  in  the  name  of  their 
common  fatherland  noJLto  disgrace  the  nation 
by_civilwar.  The  appeal  was  effective,  and  both 
sides  retired  to  quarters  and  contented  them- 
selves by  each  side  proclaiming  its  candidate 
king!  Zamoyski  fortified  Cracow  and  sat  down 
to  hold  it  until  the  Prince  of  Sweden  should 
arrive. 

The  King  of  Sweden  had  always  hoped  to 
have  his  son  King  of  Poland,  and  had  educated 
him  with  this  idea  in  view,  but  when  he  heard 
of  the  difficulties  of  the  election,  of  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  Emperor,  and  especially  of  the  con- 
dition imposed  by  the  Polish  Diet  of  Election 
that  Sweden  must  renounce  her  claims  on 
Esthonia,  he  refused  to  allow  hjs  son  to^accept 
the  throne.^   It  wasmiTy  when  his  ambassadors 

^  Poland  claimed  Esthonia  as  part  of  the  territory  of  the 
Order  of  the  Sword,  but  the  country  had  been  occupied  by  Swe- 
den, and  Poland  had  never  been  able  to  make  good  her  claim. 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       115 

returned  from  the  election  and  told  him  that 
his  arch-enemy  the-G«ar  of  Muscovy  would  be 
elected  unless  Sigismund  accepted,  and  also 
assured  him  that  the  Poles  would  give  way 
on  Esthonia,  that  he  reluctantly  allowed  the 
Prince  to  accept  and  to  start  for  Poland.  He 
made  him  promise,  however,  not  to  land  in 
Poland  until  the  Poles  should  definitely  resign 
their  claims  on  Esthonia.  For  five  days  after 
his  arrival,  therefore,  the  King-elect  sat  on  his 
ship  in  the  harbor  of  Danzig  waiting  for  the 
Poles  to  yield!  But  the  delegates  sent  to  meet 
him  had  no  authority  to  decide  a  point  of  such 
importance,  and  finally  Sigismund  accepted  the 
compromise  that  the  matter  should  be  left  as  it 
was  during  the  lifetime  of  his  father.  When  he 
got  to  Cracow  he  told  the  Senate  he  would  re- 
sign the  crown  rather  than  cede  Esthonia,  and 
they  yielded  the  point  in  view  of  the  danger 
from  Maximilian  and  the  necessity  of  a  close 
alliance  of  Sweden  and  Poland  against  Muscovy. 
Sigismund  was  crowned  December  2"j,  1587, 
but  Maximilian  refused  to  recognize  him,  and 
it  was  only  after  Zamoyski  had  fought  Maxi- 
milian and  taken  him  prisoner  that  he  agreed 
to  renounce  all  his  claims  to  the  Polish  throne. 
The  new  King  was  a  cultured,  highly  edu- 
cated, and  politically  intelligent  young  man. 


ii6    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

His  political  programme,  which  he  brought 
with  him  ready-made  from  Sweden,  was  based 
upon  a  clear  understanding  of  the  needs  of 
Poland,  but  unfortunately  he  had  not  the 
strength  of  jw^ill  and  he  never  achieved  the 
personal__popularity_by  which  alone  a  Polish 
monarch  could  overcome  the  handicaps  of  his 
position  and  accomplishanything.  The  child- 
hood of  the  young  King  (he  was  only  twenty- 
one  when  he  was  crowned)  had  been  extraordi- 
nary and  iiot  without  an  element  of  tragedy. 
He  was  born  in  prison  where  his  parents  were 
confined  by  the  half-mad  King  Erick  of  Sweden, 
who  feared  Sigismund's  father  would  seize  the 
throne.  Sigismund's  mother  was  an  ardent  and 
devout  Roman  Catholic,  and  not  only  brought 
up  her  son  in  her  faith,  but  greatly  influenced 
her  husband  in  that  direction.  When  after 
Erick's  death  he  became  king,  he  admitted  the 
Jesuits  to  Sweden  and  allowed  his  son  to  be 
educated  by  them.  The  King's  religious  feeling 
was  not,  however,  very  deep,  and  after  the 
Queen's  death  he  yielded  to  the  influence  of  a 
strongly  Protestant  country,  expelled  the  Jesu- 
its, and  began  to  persecute  Roman  Catholics. 
Sigismund  was  subjected  to  what  might  be 
called  persecution  also  in  the  effort  to  make 
him  Protestant,  but  the  young  Prince  clung  to 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       117 

his  religion  and  to  his  Jesuit  friends  with  all  his , 
might,  and  their  influence  became  the  dominat- 
ing one  of  his  whole  life.  Grave  beyond  his 
years,  cold  and  self-contained,  neijther_asking 
nor  taking  advice,  he  was  never  liked  by  the 
genialT^open-natured  Poles.  His  religion  also 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  the  Protestants 
of  Poland,  who  were  greatly  in  the  majority  in 
the  governing  class.  Instead  of  supporting 
Protestantism  as  they  had  hoped,  he  became 
its  strongest  opponent  in  the  north,  gave  his 
Jesuit  friends  a  free  hand,  and  during  his  reigni 
religious  persecution  for  the  first  time  entered! 
Poland's  doors.  It  was,  however,  persecution 
in  its  milder  forms;  there  was  no  bloodshed,  no 
horrors  as  in  Spain  or  France,  but  the  change 
that  took  place  can  be  seen  from  the  fact  that 
when  Sigismund  came  to  the  throne  the  vast 
majority  of  the  Senators  were  Protestant,  and 
when  he  died  there  were  only  two  who  still  held 
to  that  faith.  As  a  Catholic  also  he  believed  in 
authority,  and  he  spent  his  life  in  the  struggle  to 
arrest  the  democratic  movement  and  establish 
strong  government  in  Poland. 

In  foreign  policy  he  held  the  views  of  King^ 
Stephen  as  to  the  necessity  of  conquering  both 
Turks  and  Muscovites,  and  attempted  to  form 
a  league  of  the  Catholic  Powers,  headed  by 


Ii8    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Austria  and  the  Pope,  in  order  to  carry  them 
out.  This  brought  him  into  direct  opposition 
to  Zamoyski  and  to  the  majority  of  the  szlachta, 
who  regarded  Austria  —  the  representative 
of  that  German  peril  against  which  their  an- 
cestors had  fought  unceasingly  —  as  the  arch- 
enemy of  Poland  and  the  only  serious  menace 
to  her  safety.  Ag^ainst  this  detfirmined  opposi- 
tion the  King  had  to  strngglf  HTipngr  Vifc;  wlinlp 
rei^Q^n  of  nearly  fifty  years. 
j  TheT^ing*s  marriage  to  an  Austrian  arch- 
duchess and  the  persistent  rumor  (which  was 
entirely  true)  that  he  was  negotiating  with 
Austria  with  the  idea  of  giving  up  the  Polish 
throne  to  the  Archduke  Maximilian,  threw  the 
whole  country  into  great  excitement.  Zamoy- 
ski even  got  the  Diet  of  1590  to  pass  an  act  ex- 
pressly excluding  the  Archduke  from  the  suc- 
cession. But  no  sooner  had  the  Diet  risen  than 
the  opposing  party,  led  by  the  Primate,  formed 
a  "Confederation"  which  protested  against  the 
acts  of  the  Diet  of  1590,  and  especially  against 
the  power  of  Zamoyski.  An  extraordinary  Diet, 
called  by  the  King  at  the  end  of  the  year,  re- 
versed all  the  acts  of  its  predecessor  and  greatly 
weakened  Zamoyski *s  influence  by  depriving 
him  of  the  Grand  Hetmanship  and  the  Castel- 
lanate  of  Cracow,  and  replacing  many  of  his 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE        119 

friends  at  court  with  supporters  of  the  King's 
policies.  By  June,  1592,  however,  Zamoyski 
had  sufficiently  recovered  from  this  blow  to  call 
a  ** Confederation**  of  his  own  at  Jendrzow, 
which  brought  up  once  more  the  question  of 
the  King's  Austrian  intrigues  and  protested  vig- 
orously against  his  "treachery."  As  all  the 
szlachta,  the  Senators  of  Great  and  Little  Po- 
land, and  most  of  the  Orthodox  Lithuanians 
were  now  supporting  Zamoyski,  the  Diet  of 
1592,  the  so-called  **  Inquisition  Diet,"  which 
met  to  investigate  the  charges  against  the  King, 
was  largely  composed  of  his  men.  For  weeks 
this  investigation  continued.  In  the  course  of 
it  the  King  was  hectored  like  a  bad  schoolboy 
in  the  hands  of  an  old-fashioned  teacher,  and 
the  way  in  which  he  kept  both  his  temper  and 
his  dignity  was  much  to  his  credit.  The  Pri- 
mate in  the  course  of  a  speech  made  the  fol- 
lowing remarks  to  the  King,  which  show  very 
clearly  the  extraordinary  self-complacency  as 
well  as  the  lack  of  manners  of  the  assembly:  — 
"Remember,  most  serene  King,  your  oath 
and  the  example  of  your  predecessor,  Henry  of 
Valois,  who,  having  broken  it,  miserably  per- 
ished. You  are  reigning  over  a  free  people, 
over  nobles  who  have  not  their  equals  in  any 
other  nation.    Are  you  not  aware  that  you 


120    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

stand  much  higher  than  your  father,  who,  I 
am  told,  reigns  only  over  peasants?  Remember 
what  our  late  King  Stephen  of  glorious  memory 
used  to  say,  *  I  shall  some  day  put  down  those 
Swedish  kinglings  and  teach  them  how  to  be- 
have/" 

Before  the  Diet  was  over,  the  Austrian 
party,  led  by  the  young  Queen^s  mother,  the 
Archduchess  Maria,  a  very  shrewd  statesman, 
saw  that  Zamoyski  was  too  powerful  to  be  dis- 
regarded and  mus^  therefore  be  conciliated. 
Accordingly,  through  the  Palatine  of  Cracow, 
the  King  made  his  peace  with  his  Chancellor 
and  restored  to  him  the  Grand  Hetmanship. 
I  No  wiser  move  could  have  been  made,  as  it  en- 
abled the  King  to  use  to  the  full  during  the 
inext  ten  years  the  really  great  abilities  of  the 
greatest  of  his  subjects. 

In  1602,  however,  all  Zamoyski*s  suspicions 
of  ^'Habsburg  intrigues'*  were  again  aroused 
by  the  King's  proposal  to  marry  as  a  second 
wife  the  sister  of  his  first  wife,  who  had  died  in 
1599,  and  in  the  Diet  of  1603,  Zamoyski  was 
once  again  the  leader  of  the  party  of  opposition 
to  the  King.  By  this  time  dissatisfaction  with 
the  King  had  become  very  general,  and  the  ppt 
position  of  Zamoyskijwas  but  thejbeginningjof 
a  struggle  between  king  and  szlachta  tha^lasted, 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       121 

With  few  intermissions,  for^  the  next  six  years. 
There  were  many  reasons  for  this  opposition. 
It  greatly  offended  the  Poles  that,  since  the 
death  of  the  Dowager  Queen  Catharine,  the  old 
Polish  ways  had  been  given  up,  and  the  court 
to  all  outward  appearance  was  German.  It  was 
openly  charged  that  the  King  intended  to  make 
the  monarchy  hereditary,  and  greatly  to  cur- 
tail the  ** liberties"  of  the  szlachta,  thus  violat- 
ing both  the  Constitution  and  his  coronation 
oath,  and  that  the  Germans  at  his  Court  were 
to  help  him  do  it.  ReJigiouS-persecutiQH,  also, 
which  deprived  Protestants  and  Orthodox  of  all 
places  of  trust  and  power  and  made  it  very  dif- 
ficult for  them  to  own  and  maintain  public 
places  of  worship  or  other  property,  was  deeply 
resented,  as  was  also  the  establishment  of  the 
Uniate  Church  in  Poland.  Poland  had  never 
accepted  the  Union  of  Florence,  and  when  it  was 
practically  forced  upon  her  by  the  King  and  his 
Jesuit  advisers  in  1594,  the  Orthodox  people  of 
the  southwestern  provinces  were  on  the  verge 
of  revolt.  The  Diet  also  objected  to  the  King's 
foreign  policy,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  troops 
were  not  paid,  and  charged  him  with  using  the 
money  voted  for  the  latter  purpose  for  his  own 
private  expenses.  All  these  matters  and  many 
others  were  discussed   with  vehemence    and 


122    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

great  dramatic  effect  in  the  Diets  of  1603  and 
1605,  but  nothing  was  done,  and  the  only  result 
was  increased  irritation  of  all  parties.  Zamoy- 
ski  died  in  1605.  shortly  after  the  close  of  the 
Diet,  and  his  leadership  was  assumed  by  Ze- 
brzydowski,  under  whom  the  quarrel  soon  as- 
sumed the  form  of  civil  war.  Zam^oyski,  in  his 
last  public  speech  in  the  Diet  of  .L605,  had 
threatened  to  depose  the  King  if  he  did  not 
mend  his  ways.  Zebrzydowski  led  the  move- 
ment to jg,  it. 

As  in  many  other  mediaeval  parliaments  the 
decisions  of  the  Polish  Diet  were  considered  as 
expressing  the  ** sense  of  the  [whole]  meeting," 
as  the  Quakers,  who  have  always  maintained 
this  usage,  put  it,  and  not,  as  in  modern  legis- 
lative assemblies,  the  will  of  a  dominant  ma- 
jority. A  determined  minority  could  always 
prevent  action  to  which  they  objected,  but 
unless  the  minority  was  large  or  very  deter- 
mined, little  attention  was  paid  to  it,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  late  sixteenth  century  that  the 
practice  of  unanimity  in  voting  led  to  serious 
inconveniences.  In  Sigismund's  reign,  however, 
unanimity  was  obviously  impossible,  and  as 
long  as  it  remained  the  rule  no  legislative  ac- 
tion could  take  place.  In  1606  the  King  called 
the  Diet  for  the  express  purpose  of  changing 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       123 

the  Constitution  in  this  respect  and  providing 
for  majority  decisions.  Zebrzydowski  at  once 
called  a  "Confederation"  to  protest  against 
this  change  "so  destructive  to  personal  liberty/' 
and  great  numbers  of  the  most  influential  no- 
bility attended.  After  a  few  weeks  of  debate 
the  assembly  turned  itself  into  a  Rokosz  or 
'^IilSUXrfiction"  (an  armed  opposition  to  the 
king  permitted  by  the  Constitution  when  the 
king  had  violated  its  provisions  and  had  been 
warned  by  the  Senate),  which-progosed  to  de- 
throne  the  King  and  put  the  Protestant  Prince 
of  Transvlvania  in  his  place.  The  King  met 
the  situation  with  energy.  He  summoned  his 
troops  from  the  Ukraine,  and  after  issuing  a 
manifesto  condemning  the  insurrection  took 
the  field  against  the  rebels  and  defeated  them 
at  Janowiec  (September,  1606).  He  then  of- 
fered pardon  to  all  who  would  lay  down  their 
arms.  Zebrzydowski  wished  to  continue  the 
struggle,  but  his  troops  obliged  him  to  appear 
before  the  King's  representatives.  Being  as- 
sured  that  the  King  was  not  a  traitOTi^wishing 
to  give  the  Kingdom  to  Austria,  or  to  establish 
absolutism,  he  consented  to  renew  his  allegiance. 
Having  kissed  the  King's  hand  he  addressed 
his  sovereign  in  the  following  words:  "God 
...  be  my  witness  that  all  I  have  done  was 


124    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

with  the  intention  of  serving  the  public  weal, 
and  I  promise  my  allegiance  in  the  firm  hope 
that  Your  Majesty  will  satisfy  the  wishes  of 
the  nation/*  Radziwill,  next  in  insurgent  com- 
mand, then  spoke  and  ended  thus:  "Whatever 
I  did  was  done,  not  from  any  want  of  respect 
for  Your  Royal  Majesty  but  following  the  ex- 
ample of  our  ancestors,  I  stgodjup  f or ^our  lib- 
erties: and  these  as  a  true  noble,  I  shall  ever 
defend  at  the  risk  of  my  life." 

A  delegation  from  the  army  of  the  insurgents 
also  sought  an  audience  with  the  King;  their 
spokesman  made  the  following  address:  *'We 
are  freemen  and  born  in  a  free  country.  We 
were  taught  by  our  parents  that  whenever  it 
concerned  the  preservation  of  our  liberties  and 
rights,  we  should  be  ready  to  sacrifice  our  lives 
and  property.  Believing  these  liberties  to  be 
in  danger,  we  threw  ourselves  as  it  were  into 
the  midst  of  a  general  conflagration  in  order  to 
extinguish  it.  Having  now  learned  that  Your 
Majesty  never  had  any  intention  against  these 
liberties,  we  are  grateful  for  it,  and  come  to  re- 
quest Your  Majesty's  pardon  for  the  actions 
we  have  done,  they  having  been  done  with 
good  intention." 

But  all  this  eloquence  and  these  pledges 
amounted  to  nothing.  The  trouble  broke  out 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       125 

afresh  the  next  year,  and  a  second  Rokosz  was 
formed,  which  renounced  its  allegiance  to  King 
Sigismund  and  proclaimed  the  Prince  of  Tran- 
sylvania King  of  Poland.  Once  again  the  King 
defeated  the  rebels  in  the  field,  but  it  was  not 
until  160Q  that  c[uiet  was  finally  restored  by  a 
general  amnesty.  This  meant  that  the  King's 
attfimpt  to  introducea  system  of  voting  which 
should  make_constructive  legislation  feasible 
had  failed,  and  in  discouragement  he  gave  up 
all  further  attempts  at^  constitutional  refxH'm , 
and  turned  his  attention  to  foreign  affairs. 

But  here  again  the  Diet's  jealousy  of  its 
*' golden  liberty"  and  the  popular  fear  of  the 
designs  of  Austria  prevented  the  seizure, oL-a 
moment  of^  unique  opportunity  to  deal  fatal 
blows_to  Poland's_naturaL._and  inevitable  en- 
emies,  the  Turks  and  the  Mnsrovites,  and  to 
secure  her  position  on  the  Baltic^eaboard.  In 
1592,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  SigisnuindJiad 
become  King  of  Sweden,  but  his  Catholicism 
made  him  unpopular  with  his  intensely  Prot- 
estant subjects,  and  in  1598  they  dethroned 
him  and  put  his  uncle.  Prince  Charles  of  Suder- 
mania,  who  had  acted  as  viceroy  for  Sigismund, 
on  the  throne.  Whea_Sigismund  refused-to  ac- 
knowlpfWjTJrn  pr  fn  givaoipJiis  own  claims  to 
the  throne,  the  Swedes  invaded  Livonia.    But 


,/f. 


126    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Zamoyski,  with  his  two  great  subordinates,  Zol- 
kiewski  and  Chodkiewicz,  reconquered  much 
of  the  country  and  were  well  on  their  way  to 
take  the  whole  of  it  when  the  troops  mutinied 
because  they  were  not  paid.  For  two  years 
Zamoyski  tried  in  vain  to  get  either  money 
or  reinforcements  from  the  Diet ;  finally  Chod- 
kiewicz out  of  his  own  pocket  paid  for  mer- 
cenaries with  whom  he  managed  to  wring  a 
sensational  victory  from  the  Swedes  at  Kirk- 
olm  in  September,  1605,  and  saved  Livonia 
for  Poland. 

For  a  war  with  Turkey  the  time  was  very 
propitious  as  dynastic  dissensions  had  made  her 
weak,  and  Tartar  raids  into  Polish  territory, 
as  well  as  Turkish  interference  in  the  border 
states  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia,  offered  con- 
stant occasion  for  war.  Moldavia,  it  will  be  re- 
called, had  been  under  the  protection  of  Poland 
since  the  early  fifteenth  century,  and  though 
the  Turks  had  since  then  overrun  the  coun- 
try and  received  the  homage  of  its  rulers,  the 
Polish  claim  had  never  been  abandoned,  and 
could  always  be  revived  from  time  to  time  as 
occasion  offered.  But  it  was  in  the  Crimean 
Tartars  that  Turkey  had  her  best  weapon 
against  Poland.  Bold  and  cunning,  swift,  ruth- 
less, and  always  eager  to  fight,  they  were  ideal 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       127 

raiders  of  an  unprotected  border,  and  the  fact 
that  they  were  known  to  be  very  independent 
and  difficult  to  control  made  it  always  possi- 
ble for  Turkey  to  disclaim  responsibility  for 
them  when  responsibility  was  inconvenient. 
Zamoyski  was  right  in  his  position  that  to  pur- 
sue the  Tartars  into  the  Crimea  itself  and  de- 
feat them  on  their  own  ground  was  the  only  way 
effectively  to  guard  the  border  against  them, 
but  the  Diet  steadily  refused  to  vote  money 
for  such  an  expedition,  though  they  had  in  the 
Cossacks  of  the  Ukraine  material  for  an  ideal 
border  militia.  The  Ukraine,  or  border,  was 
the  name  given  to  the  vast  tract  of  territory 
that  extended  roughly  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Pripet  to  the  cataracts  of  the  Dnieper, 
some  miles  below  Kiev.  The  constant  exposure 
of  this  territory  to  invasion  from  the  steppe 
had  developed  certain  special  characteristics 
in  the  inhabitants  who,  in  self-defense,  had 
learned  the  cunning  of  the  Tartars,  were  mar- 
velous riders,  shots,  and  swimmers,  very  skill- 
ful in  warfare  of  the  guerrilla  type  and  very 
difficult  to  bring  under  restraint.  This  type 
of  frontiersman  became  known  as  a  Cossack 
(or  freebooter  or  robber),  a  name  that  was 
at  first  used  as  a  term  of  reproach,  but  later 
became  very  honorable. 


128    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

In  the  reign  of  Sigismund  I  the  Cossacks  (the 
name  was  given  to  the  whole  border  popula- 
tion at  this  time)  first  organized  themselves  for 
the  defense  of  the  border.  The  organization 
was  entirely  voluntary  and  unpaid;  it  elected 
its  own  officers,  including  the  commander-in- 
chief,  or  ataman y  and  decided  in  general  as- 
sembly the  policy  to  be  pursued.  King  Stephen 
saw  the  great  importance  of  the  Cossacks  and 
made  them  a  part  of  the  regular  army,  giving 
them  a  fixed  pay,  the  use  of  certain  pieces  of 
land,  and  establishing  a  regular  method  of  re- 
cruiting. Henceforth  they  were  known  as  the 
** registered"  Cossacks.  They  continued  to 
elect  their  own  atamans ,  but  the  election  was 
subject  to  the  King's  approval.  They  always 
steadily  refused  to  pay  taxes  or  to  do  service  for 
their  land,  and  during  the  years  when  all  the 
other  Slav  peasantry,  both  Russian  and  Polish, 
was  bound  in  serfdom,  they  remained  really 
free  and  practically  independent,  for  even  after 
they  were  taken  into  Polish  pay  they  never 
could  be  induced  to  fight  for  causes  they  did 
not  like.  They  never  failed  to  defend  the  lower 
classes  of  both  Russia  and  Poland  against 
the  nobles  and  they  never  could  be  kept  from 
fighting  the  Tartars  whenever  an  opportunity 
offered.   When  Poland  was  at  peace  with  the 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       129 

Sultan  she  was  often  seriously  embarrassed  by 
this  propensity. 

The  Zaporoghian  Cossacks  were  a  body  quite 
distinct  from  the  "registered"  and  bore  some- 
what the  relation  to  them  that  a  standing  army 
does  to  the  militia.  The  name  *  *  Zaporoghians  *  * 
means  ''behind  the  cataracts,'*  or  falls,  and  re- 
fers to  their  settlements  on  the  islands  of  the 
Dnieper  below  the  cataracts.  The  early  history 
of  this  group  is  obscure,  but  it  undoubtedly 
originated  in  the  necessity  of  keeping  an  ad- 
vanced guard  against  the  Tartars  on  these 
lonely  islands.  In  the  course  of  time  this  guard 
became  a  permanent  settlement,  living  a  life  of 
hunting,  fishing,  and  fighting.  The  settlement 
was  known  as  the  Setchj  and  was  entirely  self- 
governing  and  republican.  A  general  assembly 
of  the  whole  community  elected  all  the  officers 
including  the  chief  ataman^  who  was  absolute 
in  time  of  war,  but  in  peace  was  merely  chief 
of  his  staff.  The  discipline  was  strict  —  the 
murder  of  a  comrade,  bringing  a  woman  into 
the  camp,  and  a  number  of  other  offenses  were 
punished  with  death,  while  thieves  were  tied  to 
posts  in  the  midst  of  the  camp  so  that  every- 
body could  hit  them  as  they  passed  by.  Though 
no  women  were  allowed  in  the  settlement, 
many  Cossacks  kept  their  wives  and  families 


130    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

near  by,  and  many  of  them  brought  their  sons 
to  be  brought  up  as  Cossacks. 

r  Fighting  was  their  profession  and  chief  occu- 
pation. They  acknowledged  the  sovereignty  of 
the  King  of  Poland  and  regarded  themselves  as 
his  army,  but,  as  has  been  said  above,  in  com- 
mon with  all  the  Cossacks  they  used  their  judg- 
ment as  to  when  to  fight  for  him.  Though  the 
majority  of  the  Cossacks  were  Ukranians,  many 
people  of  other  nations,  especially  Russians 
and  Poles,  joined  them  —  young  men  of  good 
family  who  wanted  adventure;  exiles  or  out- 
laws; peasants  who  found  their  lot  too  hard; 
and  all  those  who  wished  to  lose  themselves 
and  forget  their  past.  Like  all  the  Ukranians 
most  of  the  Cossacks  were  Orthodox,  and  under 
Sigismund  III  and  his  successors  Orthodox 
peasants  in  large  numbers  fled  to  their  ranks  to 
escape  religious  persecution.  Thither  likewise 
fled  many  from  both  Russia  and  Poland  to 
escape  the  chains  of  serfdom  and  the  tyranny 
of  the  overlords. 

The  szlachta  deeply  resented  the  existence 
of  this  refuge  for  their  serfs  and  feared  a  body 
so  entirely  independent  of  their  control  as  the 
Cossacks  were.  They  were  never  willing  to 
vote  money  for  a  great  Cossack  expedition 
against  the  Turks  and  Tartars,  but  instead 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       131 

limited  the  policy  of  the  Government  to  keep- 
ing order  on  the  border,  and  to  do  it  Polish 
generals  were  obliged  to  turn  their  arms  often- 
times against  the  Cossacks  instead  of  using  them 
against  the  common  enemy.  The  result  of  this 
disastrous  and  suicidal  policy  was  ultimately 
to  throw  the  whole  Polish  Ukraine  into  the  arms 
of  Russia. 

All  during  the  reign  of  Sigismund  his  Het- 
man  fought  a  continual  and  losing  fight  against 
the  Tartars  and  the  chronically  rebellious  Cos- 
sacks for  the  peace  of  the  border,  and  was  re- 
warded by  suspicion  and  ingratitude.  Zolkiew- 
ski,  after  forty  years  of  service,  a  part  of  the 
time  at  his  own  private  expense,  was  accused  of 
protracting  the  wars  for  his  private  advantage. 
Faithful  to  Poland,  he  died  in  161 8  at  the  head 
of  a  little  band  of  Poles  who,  deserted  by  their 
comrades,  were  cut  to  pieces  by  the  Turks,  who 
had  now  become  strong  enough  to  take  the 
offensive  and  were  invading  Poland  with  all 
their  forces. 

This  terrible  disaster  roused  even  the  Diet 
which,  with  unprecedented  generosity,  voted 
something  more  than  half  enough  money  to 
finance  a  campaign !  Under  the  Grand  Hetman 
of  Lithuania,  Chodkiewicz,  of  Livonian  fame, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  the  Cossacks,  the 


> 


132     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Turks  were  defeated  and  forced  to  a  truce 
(1619)  that  kept  peace  between  the  two  states 
for  nearly  forty  years. 

Meanwhile  events  of  dramatic  and  far-reach- 
ing importance  had  drawn  Poland  into  a  war 
with  Muscovy.  Shortly  after  the  death  of  Ivan 
IV,  Muscovy  fell  into  a  state  of  anarchy  that 
bade  fair  to  destroy  her.  The  successor  of  Ivan 
IV  on  the  Russian  throne  was  his  son  Theodore, 
,  a  weakling  both  physically  and  mentally,  under 
whom  the  government  was  carried  on  by  the 
Czar's  brother-in-law,  Boris  Godunov,  who 
ruled  so  well  that  after  Theodore's  death  a 
national  assembly  elected  him  czar.  The  way 
had  been  paved  for  this  by  Boris  himself,  who 
during  the  life  of  Theodore  had  had  the  Czar's 
half-brother  Dmitri,  the  last  of  the  direct  heirs 
to  the  throne,  murdered.  Boris  had  hoped  to 
found  a  dynasty,  but  the  great  nobles,  or  hoyars, 
never  liked  him,  and  some  time  before  his  death 
in  1605,  were  already  planning  to  supplant 
him.  To  prepare  the  way  they  spread  the  news 
that  the  Czarevitch  Dmitri  had  not  died,  that 
it  was  another  child  who  had  been  killed  in  his 
place,  and  that  the  Czarevitch  himself  was  in 
Lithuania  and  about  to  return  to  claim  the 
throne  of  his  fathers.  After  Boris's  death  this 
Pretender  succeeded  to  the  throne  amid  great 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       133 

popular  rejoicing.  It  has  never  been  discovered 
who  he  was.  That  he  was  a  Great  Russian  and 
sincerely  believed  himself  to  be  the  Czarevitch 
Dmitri,  and  that  he  was  a  wise,  able,  and  inde- 
pendent ruler,  there  is  no  doubt  at  all.  But  the 
boyars,  who  had  hoped  for  a  facile  tool,  were 
greatly  disappointed  and  began  at  once  to  plot 
to  overthrow  him  also.  In  less  than  a  year  he 
was  murdered  and  Prince  Vassily  Shuiski  put 
in  his  place.  But  Shuiski  was  not  the  choice 
of  all  the  boyars.  His  lack  of  any  title  to  the 
throne  made  him  unpopular  in  the  country  at 
large,  and  rival  boyars  saw  their  opportunity 
to  produce  a  new  Pretender  who  claimed  that 
he  also  was  Dmitri  once  more  miraculously  es- 
caped from  death !  There  was  little  belief  in  his 
claims,  —  he  was  an  adventurer  pure  and  sim- 
ple, —  but  he  was  proclaimed  czar  and  set  up  his 
camp  at  Tushino  from  which  he  was  popularly 
known  as  "The  Thief  of  Tushino."  There  were 
now  two  czars,  Shuiski  at  Moscow  and  *'The 
Thief*  at  Tushino. 

In  the  whole  Russian  domestic  difficulty  the 
Poles  had  taken  a  large,  though  not  at  first  an 
official,  part.  It  was  in  Poland  at  the  court 
of  Prince  Adam  Wisniowiecki  that  the  False 
Dmitri  had  first  laid  public  claim  to  his  title,  and 
here  and  elsewhere  in  Poland  his  claims  were 


134    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

recognized  and  kingly  honors  were  accorded 
him.  He  was  converted  to  Roman  Catholicism 
by  the  Franciscans  and  betrothed  to  Maria,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  the  Palatine  of  Sandomir, 
during  the  year  1603,  and  early  in  1604  was 
presented  to  King  Sigismund  at  Cracow.  Sig- 
ismund  did  not  see  his  way  to  recognize  him 
publicly,  but  acknowledged  him  privately  and 
paid  him  a  small  pension.  His  future  father-in- 
law  then  took  up  his  cause,  collected  an  army 
of  Poles  and  Cossacks,  and  started  out  to  place 
him  on  the  throne  of  Muscovy.  The  Diet  of 
1605  protested  vehemently  against  this  expedi- 
tion, and  recalled  the  Palatine  and  his  troops. 
But  the  Cossacks,  who  formed  more  than  half 
his  force,  refused  to  return,  and  with  them  the 
Pretender  proceeded  on  his  way,  winning 
many  to  his  side  as  he  went.  "The  Thief" 
at  Tushino  also  had  many  Poles  in  his  army, 
and  many  Cossacks  were  drawn  to  his  support 
by  the  fact  that  all  the  lower  classes  in  Mus- 
covy were  supporting  him  and  that  under  him  a 
great  peasant  and  Slav  rising  was  taking  place. 
The  horrors  inflicted  on  the  country  by  "The 
Thief"  and  his  Cossack  allies  were  indescrib- 
able, and  Shuiski  called  in  the  Swedes  to  help 
him  restore  order,  ceding  Carelia  to  them  and 
renouncing  all  Muscovy's  claims  on  Livonia  in 


THE  ERA  OF   DECLINE       135 

return.  At  this  King  Sigismund  insisted  on  in- 
tervening, though  the  Diet  was  still  indifferent. 
Zolkiewski  led  an  army  against  Shuiski,  de- 
feated and  took  him  prisoner,  and  received  the 
proposition  of  the  hoyars  to  place  Prince  Wladis- 
laus,  the  son  of  King  Sigismund,  on  the  Mus- 
covite throne. 

Zolkiewski  managed  the  matter  with  great 
skill.  He  got  the  hoyars  to  render  homage  to 
him  as  the  representative  of  the  Prince,  to  send 
a  deputation  of  their  most  distinguished  men 
to  confer  with  King  Sigismund  as  to  the  terms 
on  which  his  son  could  accept  the  Muscovite 
throne,  and  to  admit  the  Polish  army  to  the 
Kremlin  of  Moscow,  thus  giving  them  control  of 
the  city.  But  the  King  could  not  allow  him  to 
accept  and  protect  Orthodoxy,  without  which 
the  Muscovites  would  not  accept  him,  so  after 
months  of  futile  negotiation  the  conference 
broke  up.  Meanwhile  a  great  popular  move- 
ment was  sweeping  over  Muscovy  —  a  move- 
ment that  was  essentially  religious  and  was  led 
by  the  clergy  —  in  opposition  to  the  rule  of 
a  foreigner,  and  a  schismatic.  A  national  as- 
sembly met  and  elected  Michael  Romanoff 
czar,  thus  founding  a  new  dynasty  and  at  the 
same  time  ending  the  only  opportunity  the 
Poles  ever  had  of  ruling  in  Muscovy. 


136     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

It  was  only  when  the  opportunity  was  gone 
that  the  Diet  was  willing  to  fight!  They  voted 
money  for  a  year's  campaign  and  sent  Chod- 
kiewicz  and  the  young  Prince  off  '*to  conquer 
Muscovy."  But  the  Polish  troops  were  badly 
equipped  to  stand  a  Russian  winter  and  the 
Muscovites  were  too  exhausted  to  carry  on  a 
long  campaign,  so  after  a  few  months  of  fight- 
ing the  Truce  of  Deulino  (1618)  was  arranged 
by  which  the  Poles  recognized  Michael  as  czar, 
and  Muscovy  ceded  Smolensk  and  the  great 
province  of  Novgorod -Severski  to  Poland. 

Just  at  this  time  the  Swedes  under  Sigis- 
mund's  great  cousin,  King  Gustavus  Adolphus, 
were  invading  and  laying  waste  Livonia.  Gus- 
tavus realized  that  Sigismund's  real  interest  in 
both  Sweden  and  Livonia  was  to  bring  them 
under  the  influence  of  the  Counter-Reforma- 
tion, and  he  regarded  the  conquest  of  Livonia 
and  the  maintenance  of  his  dynasty  in  Sweden 
as  an  integral  part  of  the  great  struggle  for 
Protestantism,  as  whose  champion  a  few  years 
later  he  entered  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Suc- 
cess in  Livonia  led  to  the  invasion  of  both  East 
and  West  Prussia,  and  Gustavus  soon  had  prac- 
tically the  whole  country,  with  the  exception 
of  Danzig,  in  his  hands.  Here  again  it  was  the 
fatal  blindness  of  the  Polish  Diet  that  permitted 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       137 

this  to  happen.  In  Stanislaus  Koniecpolski  the 
Poles  had  a  general  worthy  of  Poland's  best 
military  traditions ;  in  spite  of  heavy  odds  he 
won  some  brilliant  victories  in  the  Swedish 
war,  and  had  the  Diet  supported  him,  the  task 
of  the  Swedes  would  have  been  much  more 
difficult,  and  the  outcome  might  have  been 
very  different.  But  the  Diet  never  grasped  the 
significance  of  the  war,  and  in  1629  made  the 
Truce  of  Altmark,  which  left  not  only  Livonia, 
but  most  of  the  Prussian  coast  as  well,  with  its 
important  trading  towns  of  Elbing,  Brauns- 
berg,  and  Memel,  in  Swedish  hands. 

During  the  last  years  of  his  reign  the  King 
took  little  part  in  public  affairs.  He  died  in 
1632,  disillusioned  and  disappointed,  seeing 
only  too  plainly  the  abyss  toward  which  the 
country  was  headed  and  the  powerlessness  of 
her  monarchs  to  save  her. 

Sigismund  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Wla- 
dislaus  IV  (i  632-1 648),  who  united  many  of 
the  great  qualities  of  the  Vasa  race  with  a 
thoroughly  Polish  temperament.  It  was  the 
dream  of  his  life  to  win  the  Muscovite  crown 
that  in  his  early  youth  had  been  almost  within 
his  grasp.  He  was  an  able  and  experienced  gen- 
eral, a  great  favorite  with  the  Cossacks  as  well 
as  with  the  regular  army,  and  the  breaking  of 


138     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

the  Truce  of  Deulino  by  the  Muscovites  as  soon 
as  they  heard  of  his  father's  death  seemed  to 
offer  him  his  opportunity.  But  the  Diet  re- 
fused absolutely  to  vote  money  for  the  war, 
and  it  was  only  by  pawning  his  father's  crown 
and  selling  to  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  (who 
had  succeeded  to  the  Duchy  of  Prussia  and 
was  therefore  his  vassal)  exemption  from  doing 
homage  in  person  for  his  duchy,  that  the  King 
was  able  to  raise  enough  money  to  go  to  the 
relief  of  Smolensk,  which  the  Muscovites  were 
besieging.  Although  he  won  a  brilliant  victory 
before  Smolensk,  news  that  the  Turks  were  at- 
tacking in  the  south  convinced  the  King  that 
he  could  not  take  the  offensive  against  Moscow 
at  this  time,  and  he  agreed  to  a  peace  (March, 
1634)  by  which  territorial  arrangements  were 
left  as  they  had  been  before  the  war,  Muscovy 
paid  a  large  indemnity,  and  Wladislaus  recog- 
nized Michael  as  czar. 

The  Turks  proved  less  troublesome  than  the 
King  had  feared,  and  in  October,  1634,  a  fairly 
advantageous  peace  was  made  with  them. 

Meanwhile  the  death  of  Gustavus  Adolphus 
and  the  entrance  of  France  into  the  Thirty 
Years'  War  had  led  both  sides  to  negotiate  with 
King  Wladislaus.  Though  the  Diet  refused  to 
consider  Poland's  going  to  war  with  them,  the 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       139 

Protestant  allies  were  willing  to  pay  well  for 
her  neutrality,  and  by  the  Truce  of  Stuhmsdorf 
(September,  1635)  Poland  recovered  all  the 
Prussian  territories  conquered  from  her  by 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  and  Sweden  agreed  to 
return  Livonia  after  the  war. 

The  constant  interference  of  the  Diet  with 
every  phase  of  his  policy,  their  parsimony, 
stupidity,  and  lack  of  interest  in  everything 
except  their  own  powers  and  prerogatives, 
led  the  King  to  plan  the  destruction  of  their 
power  by  force.  The  Order  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  formed  from  among  the  younger 
magnates  and  sanctioned  by  the  Pope,  was  in- 
tended to  be  the  nucleus  of  a  royalist  party 
which  should  aid  the  King  in  this  project. 
But  the  Diet,  aided  in  this  instance  by  all 
the  Protestants  and  the  Orthodox  Lithuanians, 
raised  such  a  commotion  that  the  King  was 
obliged  to  abolish  the  Order.  He  then  turned 
to  the  Cossacks,  with  whom  he  was  very  popu- 
lar, and  planned  to  use  them  to  carry  out  a 
coup  d'etat  by  means  of  which  power  should 
be  taken  forcibly  from  the  szlachta  and  put 
into  his  hands.  To  create  circumstances  which 
should  be  an  excuse  for  such  a  revolution,  he 
planned  to  bring  about  a  war  with  the  Turks 
and,  contrary  to  the  pacta  conventa^  he  made  a 


140    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

secret  alliance  with  Venice  to  aid  him  in  such 
a  war.  The  Turks,  however,  carefully  avoided 
war,  and  Venice  spoiled  the  whole  plan  by  be- 
traying the  existence  of  the  secret  treaty.  The 
Diet  of  1646,  declaring  that  a  Turkish  war 
would  be  "the  grave  of  the  national  liberties,*' 
reduced  the  army  and  forbade  the  King  to 
make  war  without  their  consent.  But  the  King 
did  not  give  up.  He  kept  his  army  ready  for 
action  and  continued  his  negotiations  with  the 
Cossacks,  in  the  hope  that  his  chance  might 
still  come.  The  Cossacks,  however,  got  tired 
of  waiting,  and,  in  1648,  their  Hetman  Bogdan 
Chmielnicki  made  an  alliance  with  the  Tartars 
and  invaded  Poland.  It  is  possible  that  the 
King  might  have  been  able  to  use  this  revolt 
for  his  own  purposes,  but  he  had  no  time  to 
try.  He  died  very  suddenly  just  as  it  broke 
out,  and  his  successor  was  left  to  deal  with 
what  proved  to  be  a  very  terrible  situation. 

The  Cossacks  had  many  grievances  against 
the  Poles.  Not  only  had  the  Government  for- 
bidden them  to  attack  their  constant  and  tradi- 
tional enemy  the  Tartars  unless  Poland  was  at 
war  with  the  Turks,  but  the  Jesuits  had  tried 
to  convert  them  to  Catholicism,  and  the  Polish 
nobles,  who  had  gone  in  great  numbers  into  the 
Ukraine  during  the  sixteenth  century  and  taken 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       141 

up  vast  estates  there,  were  making  a  deter- 
mined effort,  in  which  they  were  ably  seconded 
by  their  Jewish  stewards,  to  take  away  the 
freedom  which  was  the  basis  of  the  corporate 
existence  of  the  Cossacks,  and  force  them  into 
serfdom.  The  Polish  Government  also  had  not 
kept  faith  with  the  Cossacks.  It  had  made 
promises  and  treaties  only  to  break  them,  and 
when  the  Cossacks  resented  this  treatment  had 
no  better  remedy  to  apply  than  suppression. 
The  fire  was  thus  laid  and  the  match  was  ap- 
plied by  Bogdan  Chmielnicki,  a  small  Polish 
noble  whom  the  tyranny  of  the  Governor  of  the 
Ukraine  had  driven  into  the  Cossack  ranks  and 
whom  the  Cossacks  had  elected  their  Hetman. 
John  Casimir,  brother  and  successor  of  Wla- 
dislaus  IV,  as  soon  as  he  was  elected,  realizing 
the  justice  of  the  Cossack  cause,  and  seeing  the 
necessity  of  putting  an  end  to  the  horror  of 
Cossack  warfare,  made  a  treaty  with  them  rec- 
ognizing Chmielnicki  as  their  leader  and  con- 
firming their  privileges.  But  it  was  only  a  truce 
and  of  short  duration.  Its  terms  were  not  kept 
because  neither  nobles  nor  Jesuits  wanted  to 
keep  them,  and  for  six  long  years  the  war  with 
the  Cossacks  went  on.  It  was  a  war  of  inde- 
scribable barbarity.  To  Cossack  fury  was  added 
the  horrors  of  servile  war,  as  the  peasants  and 


142    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

serfs  of  the  Ukraine  joined  the  Cossacks  in  this 
war  for  freedom.  Old  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, the  noncombatants  in  the  villages,  were 
subjected  to  a  thousand  tortures  before  they 
were  finally  killed  and  their  villages  pillaged 
and  burned  to  the  ground.  Whichever  side  was 
victorious  ruin  and  massacre  followed  the  vic- 
tory. Finally,  in  1654,  despairing  of  any  perma- 
nent arrangement  with  the  Poles,  Chmielnicki 
turned  to  Muscovy  and  made  a  treaty  with  the 
Czar  by  which  the  Cossacks  transferred  their 
allegiance  to  him  in  return  for  his  promise  to 
maintain  all  their  privileges.  This  promise  was 
not  kept.  Little  by  little  the  Czar  took  away 
the  Cossacks'  privileges  and  curtailed  their 
freedom  until  only  a  few  pitiful  remnants  were 
left  of  the  organization  that  had  been  their 
pride  and  bulwark.  That,  however,  belongs  to 
the  history  of  Russia,  not  Poland.  For  Poland 
the  immediate  result  of  their  defection  was  the 
invasion  of  the  country  by  Muscovites  and 
Swedes ;  the  ultimate  result  was  the  permanent 
loss  of  the  great  Dnieper  Valley  (the  Ukraine) 
to  Russia  and  of  the  Duchy  of  Prussia  to  Bran- 
denburg. 

Like  a  flashlight  suddenly  turned  upon  her, 
the  defection  of  the  Cossacks  revealed  to  her  en- 
emies the  internal  divisions  in  Poland  and  her 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       143 

resulting  weakness,  and  Muscovite  and  Swede 
hastened  to  take  advantage  of  it.  The  Musco- 
vites pushed  into  Lithuania,  took  the  fortresses 
of  Polotsk  and  Smolensk,  and  ended  by  estab- 
lishing themselves  in  the  capital,  Wilna.  The 
rest  of  Lithuania,  led  by  Janus  Radziwill,  sub- 
mitted voluntarily  to  the  Czar  Alexis.  Mean- 
while the  Swedes  under  their  King,  Charles 
X,  whom  John  Casimir  had  never  recognized 
as  King  of  Sweden  and  against  whose  acces- 
sion he  had  strongly  protested,  invaded  Great 
Poland,  while  the  Prince  of  Transylvania  took 
Cracow  and  Podolia.  Led  by  Radzijovski,  a 
Polish  exile  who  returned  to  Poland  with  the 
Swedes,  the  many  nobles  of  Great  Poland 
who  were  disaffected  toward  John  Casimir  set 
up  Charles  X  of  Sweden  as  king,  and  John 
Casimir,  deserted  by  all  parties,  was  obliged  to 
flee  to  Silesia.  The  state  of  Poland  had  ceased 
to  exist!    f 

That  it  speedily  came  to  life  again  is  due 
very  largely  to  the  faith  and  the  patriotism 
of  one  man,  Augustus  Kordecki,  Prior  of  the 
Monks  of  St.  Paul,  of  the  Convent  of  Jasna- 
Gora,  which  was  situated  inside  the  fortifica- 
tions of  Czenstochowa,  where  a  miracle-working 
image  of  the  Virgin  of  great  age  and  sacredness 
was  preserved.    He  resolutely  refused  to  sur- 


144    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

render  his  fortress,  though  his  garrison  within 
and  his  countrymen  without  all  urged  him  to 
do  so,  and  the  little  band  began  the  apparently 
hopeless  task  of  defending  their  bit  of  rock  — 
''the  only  spot  in  all  Poland  that  remained 
free"  —  against  the  Swedish  army,  trained  and 
seasoned  by  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  the 
traitor  nobility  of  their  own  land.  But  before 
they  were  obliged  to  surrender,  the  example  of 
their  courage  and  constancy  had  aroused  the 
shame,  the  patriotism,  and  the  religious  enthu- 
siasm of  the  Poles.  Many  Polish  soldiers  de- 
serted the  Swedish  cause,  the  nobles  held  a 
**  Confederation"  and  withdrew  their  allegiance 
from  the  Swedish  King,  John  Casimir  came 
back  to  Poland,  and  taking  command  of  the 
troops  relieved  the  little  garrison  of  Czensto- 
chowa.  He  then  set  up  his  headquarters  in  the 
Convent  of  St.  Paul,  held  there  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  Senate,  from  there  issued  the  procla- 
mation announcing  his  return,  and  calling  the 
people  to  return  to  their  allegiance  and  arm 
themselves  to  drive  out  the  foreign  invaders. 
In  responding  to  this  call  the  Poles  showed 
themselves  for  once  a  united  people. 

But  Poland  needed  allies,  and  the  King  de- 
voted his  attention  to  finding  them.  An  alliance 
with  Denmark  was  of  the  greatest  value  be- 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       145 

cause  it  took  the  brunt  of  the  Swedish  war  off 
the  Poles.  The  Emperor  also  as  King  of  Hun- 
gary sent  assistance  to  Poland,  and  Frederick 
William  of  Brandenburg,  the  "Great  Elector," 
in  1657,  by  the  Treaty  of  Wehlau,  made  an 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with  Poland. 
But  Poland  was  ruined  by  the  price  she  had 
to  pay  for  these  alliances.  Unable  to  meet  her 
obligation  to  Austria,  she  was  obliged  to  give 
Austria  temporary  possession  of  the  salt  mines 
of  Wieliczka,  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of 
revenue  of  the  Crown,  while  to  satisfy  Bran- 
denburg she  had  to  renounce  her  suzerainty 
over  East  Prussia. 

In  161 8,  by  the  extinction  of  the  line  of 
Albert  of  Hohenzollern,  the  Hohenzollern  Elec- 
tors of  Brandenburg  had  become  Dukes  in 
Prussia,  and  the  vassals  of  Poland.  Frederick 
William,  the  "Great  Elector,*'  who  became 
Duke  of  Prussia  in  1640,  resolved  to  free  him- 
self from  this  vassalage  and  by  the  conquest  of 
West  Prussia  from  Poland  and  of  Pomerania 
from  the  Swedes  (who  had  conquered  it  in  the 
Thirty  Years'  War)  to  unite  his  electoral  with 
his  ducal  territories  and  become  the  dominating 
power  on  the  Baltic.  No  ruler  of  his  age,  few  of 
any  age,  surpassed  him  in  his  sinister  ability  to 
use  the  misfortunes  of  his  neighbors  in  achiev- 


146    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

ing  his  own  ends.  The  Treaty  of  Wehlau  was 
only  the  first  of  many  successful  arrangements 
by  which  this  prince  raised  his  electorate  from 
an  obscure  little  German  State  to  a  Power  of 
European  importance  and  paved  the  way  for 
Empire. 

The  war  begun  by  Poland*s  misfortunes  had 
thus  assumed  European  proportions  and  signifi- 
cance, and  in  1659  bade  fair  to  ruin  the  com- 
merce of  the  Baltic.  The  Maritime  Powers, 
England  and  Holland,  then  intervened  and  ne- 
gotiated the  peace  finally  signed  at  Oliva  in 
May,  1660,  by  Sweden,  Brandenburg,  and  Po- 
land, by  which  John  Casimir  renounced  all 
claims  on  the  crown  of  Sweden  and  ceded  Li- 
vonia (except  one  small  portion)  to  Charles  X. 
The  war  with  Muscovy,  begun  in  1654,  had 
been  abandoned  in  1656,  and  Russians  and 
Poles  united  to  fight  against  their  common 
enemy,  Sweden.  War  between  them  was  re- 
sumed in  1660,  however,  and  Poland  inflicted 
upon  Muscovy  two  serious  defeats,  which  re- 
sulted in  her  withdrawal  from  White  Russia 
and  Lithuania  and  from  nearly  all  the  western 
Ukraine.  The  exhaustion  of  Muscovy,  Lubo- 
mirski's  rebellion  in  Great  Poland,  and  the  en- 
trance of  the  Cossacks  of  the  western  Ukraine 
into  an  alliance  with  Turkey,  which  raised  up 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       147 

for  Muscovy  and  Poland  a  common  enemy  far 
more  terrible  to  both  of  them  than  either  was  to 
the  other,  led  to  the  signing  of  the  Peace  of 
Andrusovo  in  1667,  by  which  Poland  ceded  to 
Russia  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Dnieper,  in- 
cluding Smolensk  and  Kiev,  and  the  Cossacks 
of  the  Dnieper  were  put  under  the  joint  domin- 
ion of  the  Czar  and  the  King  of  Poland,  who 
agreed  together  to  restrain  the  Cossacks  from 
the  Black  Sea  raids  so  provocative  of  Turkish 
hostility  and  to  prevent  their  rebellion  against 
either  of  their  sovereigns.  The  Cossacks  agreed 
to  defend  both  Muscovite  and  Polish  territory, 
and  to  protect  the  Ukraine  from  the  Tartars. 
Thus  ended  the  Thirteen  Years*  War,  as  the 
Russians  know  it,  a  war  that  exceeded  even  the 
Thirty  Years*  War  in  its  terrible  devastation, 
its  brutality,  and  bestiality. 

It  was  in  the  reign  of  John  Caslmir  also  that 
the  last  touch  of  anarchy  was  given  to  the 
Polish  Constitution  by  the  introduction  of  the 
use  of  the  veto  power  by  which  a  single  deputy 
could  bring  about  the  dissolution  of  the  Diet. 
Such  a  dissolution  not  only  ended  the  session, 
but  it  rendered  null  and  void  the  acts  already 
passed.  The  Diet  was  considered  as  not  having 
taken  place.  It  is  to  a  deputy  named  Sicinski 
from  Upita  that  the  doubtful  honor  of  making 


148    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

this  innovation  belongs.  It  was  not  at  all  liked 
at  first  by  the  other  deputies,  though  they 
recognized  that  it  was  legally  implied  in  their 
system  of  unanimity  voting.  Its  advantages 
were  soon  recognized,  however,  and  it  was  used 
very  frequently  in  the  years  that  followed.  It 
became  in  fact  a  means  of  putting  an  end  to  all 
legislation  and  hence  to  all  government.  In  the 
course  of  the  next  one  hundred  and  twelve 
years  no  less  than  forty-eight  Diets  were 
broken  up,  or  "exploded'*  as  it  was  technically 
expressed  —  seven  under  John  Casimir,  four 
under  Michael,  seven  under  John  Sobieski,  and 
thirty  under  Augustus  II  and  Augustus  III. 
It  meant  that  Poland  was  without  the  laws 
necessary  to  progress,  that  justice  was  not  ad- 
ministered, and  that  the  country  was  practi- 
cally without  an  army  since  no  taxes  were 
voted  to  pay  it. 

A  year  after  the  Peace  of  Andrusovo,  John 
Casimir  abdicated,  and  left  the  country.  His 
reign  of  twenty-one  years  had  been  a  reign  full 
of  difficulties,  dangers,  and  disasters,  and  the 
King  had  borne  a  leading  part  in  all  of  them. 
But  after  the  death  of  the  Queen  he  lost  in- 
terest in  trying  to  rule  a  country  which  would 
not  be  ruled  and  whose  internal  dissensions 
(which  had  led  to  the  open  and  serious  rebel- 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       149 

Hon  of  Great  Poland  under  Lubomirski,  Grand 
Marshal  and  Vice-Hetman  of  the  Crown)  were, 
as  he  plainly  saw,  leading  straight  to  ruin. 

John  Casimir  had  been  a  Jesuit  and  a  cardi- 
nal before  he  became  king,  and  after  his  abdi- 
cation he  returned  to  the  religious  life  which  he 
had  abandoned  for  the  kingship,  and  spent  the 
rest  of  his  life  in  France  as  Abbot  of  the  Mon- 
astery of  St.  Germain  des  Pres. 

For  a  number  of  years  before  his  abdication 
the  King  had  tried  to  get  the  Diet  to  accept  the 
French  Prince  of  Cond6,  known  as  ''The  Great 
Cond6,*'  as  his  successor.  As  naming  his  suc- 
cessor was  contrary  to  the  King's  pacta  con- 
venta,  this  attempt  roused  a  storm  of  protest 
from  both  houses  of  the  Diet,  but  many  of  the 
most  influential  magnates  believed  as  he  did 
that  in  the  choice  of  an  outsider  like  Cond6, 
personally  able  and  supported  by  a  strong  state 
like  France,  lay  the  best  hope  for  the  reform  of 
the  Polish  Constitution,  and  the  King  abdicated 
largely  in  the  hope  that  his  abdication  would  be 
followed  by  the  election  of  Conde.  That  many 
of  the  magnates  had  received  French  bribes  and 
that  this  had  undoubtedly  had  a  good  deal  to  do 
with  forming  their  convictions,  is  unfortunately 
true.  But  the  most  carefully  laid  plans  and 
the  ablest  diplomatic  skill  were  of  no  avail  in 


150    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

the  Diet  of  Election,  where  the  majority  of  the 
szlachta  still  held  the  mediaeval  belief  that  the 
election  of  a  king  was  a  religious  act  and  that 
the  deputies  simply  proclaimed  king  him 
*' whose  name  God  put  it  into  their  hearts  to 
proclaim."  When,  therefore,  after  violent  and 
protracted  discussions,  the  Castellan  of  San- 
domir  proposed  the  name  of  Michael  Wisnio- 
wiecki  (whose  only  qualifications  were  that  he 
was  a  "Piast"  and  the  son  of  the  Polish  gene- 
ral, Jeremiah  Wisniowiecki,  who  had  made  his 
name  a  terror  to  the  Cossacks) ,  and  said  in  ex- 
planation that  he  had  simply  followed  the  voice 
of  God  who  had  put  in  his  heart  the  words 
*'Long  live  King  Michael,"  the  matter  was  de- 
cided for  the  majority  of  the  szlachta.  Previous 
sessions  had  also  convinced  the  supporters  of 
Cond6  that  he  could  not  be  elected,  and  finally 
they  also  went  over  to  Michael,  who  was  elected 
and  crowned  in  1669. 

Opposition  to  Conde  had  indeed  gone  so  far 
that  in  one  session  a  nobleman  had  risen  and 
cried,  "If  any  one  votes  for  the  Prince  of  Cond6 
I  will  shoot  him,"  and  to  a  Senator  who  re- 
buked him  somewhat  sharply  he  replied  by 
simply  firing  his  pistol  at  him !  The  session  then 
resolved  itself  into  a  free  fight  during  which  the 
Bishops  and  Senators  ran  to  cover  and  could 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       151 

not  be  induced  to  resume  deliberations  for  three 
days.  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  not  all  the 
members  agreed  with  the  Castellan  of  Cracow, 
who  said  that  "he  rejoiced  in  the  session  which 
showed  '  real  Polish  vigor '  and  that  he  wished 
every  election  could  be  decided  amid  the  whis- 
tling of  pistol  shots.'* 

The  election  of  Michael  was  a  signal  for  a  war 
with  the  Turks.  The  Cossacks,  believing  that 
the  son  of  their  greatest  oppressor  (the  father 
of  King  Michael)  would  be  sure  to  resume  their 
persecution,  rushed  to  arms  and  offered  their 
allegiance  to  the  Turks  in  return  for  protection. 
The  Grand  Hetman,  John  Sobieski,  defeated 
the  Cossack  leader  Doroshenko,  but  was  too 
busy  conspiring  with  the  French  to  dethrone 
King  Michael,  to  follow  up  his  victory,  and  the 
Turks  were  able  easily  to  invade  Podolia  and 
capture  Kamieniec,  the  key  to  the  whole  prov- 
ince and  the  only  strong  fortress  on  its  frontier. 
With  conspiracy  that  amounted  to  civil  war 
going  on  in  Warsaw  and  absorbing  the  whole 
attention  of  the  Diet  and  the  magnates,  the 
King  could  do  nothing  in  the  south  but  make  a 
peace  by  which  he  surrendered  all  of  Podolia 
and  the  Ukraine  and  agreed  to  pay  tribute  to 
the  Turks.  The  Diet,  when  it  finally  met,  con- 
sidered the  peace  too  disgraceful  to  ratify  and 


152    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

blamed  the  King  for  making  it,  though  it  is 
difficult  to  see  that  they  had  left  him  any  al- 
ternative. They  raised  a  large  army  and  sent 
it  south  under  John  Sobieski,  who  fought  the 
Turks  with  skill  and  vigor  for  four  long  years 
and  in  the  end  was  able  to  make  only  a  compro- 
mise peace,  Kamieniec  and  part  of  the  Ukraine 
being  left  by  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Turks. 

In  the  midst  of  this  war  King  Michael  died, 
and  the  Poles  elected  John  Sobieski  in  his  place. 
There  were  other  strong  candidates,  but  So- 
bieski overcame  all  opposition  to  himself  by 
appearing  suddenly  in  the  Diet  with  several 
thousands  of  his  southern  troops. 

The  new  King,  John  III,  though  a  really 
great  general,  was  a  man  of  very  minor  talents 
in  other  directions,  and  his  personal  character 
was  far  from  lofty.  His  great  personal  ambi- 
tion and  his  entire  unscrupulousness  had  led 
him  to  spend  the  first  forty  years  of  his  life  in 
secret  intrigues  or  open  rebellion  against  his 
King.  It  was  the  events  of  these  years  that  con- 
tributed in  large  measure  to  create  a  situation 
in  Poland  that  frustrated  his  plans  for  reform 
after  he  himself  became  king.  He  was,  also, 
very  much  influenced  by  the  Queen  in  politi- 
cal matters,  and  the  influence  was  entirely  bad. 
During  his  reign  Poland  declined  steadily,  dis- 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       153 

order  increased,  and  government  almost  ceased 
to  exist,  while  in  both  town  and  country  eco- 
nomic ruin  was  advancing  upon  the  unhappy 
country  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  one  really 
great  event  of  John  Sobieski's  reign  was  his  XnO/ 
famous  rescue  of  Vienna  from  the  Turks,  and  \  " 
even  this  achievement  was  of  more  value  to 
Austria  than  to  Poland. 

Although  the  Turkish  power  had  already  en- 
tered the  period  of  slow  but  sure  decline  that 
was  to  enable  Austria  and  Russia  during  the 
next  century  to  push  her  back  beyond  the 
Danube  and  the  Black  Sea,  where  she  was  no 
longer  a  menace  to  Christian  Europe,  yet  in  the 
late  seventeenth  century  no  one  knew  this,  and 
the  victories  of  Turkey  under  the  latest  of  her 
great  Grand  Viziers,  Kara  Mustafa  Kiuprili, 
were  in  any  case  a  terrible  danger  to  south- 
eastern Europe.  The  Emperor,  who  as  King 
of  Hungary  and  overlord  of  Transylvania  was 
the  natural  leader  in  this  movement  against  the 
Turks,  was  engaged  at  this  time  in  a  great 
struggle  with  Louis  XIV  of  France  for  the  dom- 
ination of  western  Europe  and  had  no  forces 
at  liberty  to  use  against  the  Turks.  Hungary, 
moreover,  entirely  disaffected  as  the  result  of 
Jesuit  persecutions  and  much-resented  changes 
in  her  traditional  system  of  government,  joined 


154    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

the  Turks,  as  did  also  the  Prince  of  Transyl- 
vania, and  wherever  the  Emperor  turned  for 
allies  he  found  that  the  diplomacy  of  France  had 
arranged  to  thwart  him.  Everywhere  except  in 
Poland.  Here  the  presence  of  the  Turks  at  their 
very  doors  and  the  energy,  decision,  and  tact 
of  the  King  prevailed  over  French  gold  and 
even  over  the  traditional  suspicion  and  fear 
of  Austria,  and  in  1683  Poland  allied  herself 
with  the  Emperor  and  agreed  to  put  forty 
thousand  men  in  the  field  against  the  Turk. 
But  as  usual  it  took  time  to  get  either  money  or 
soldiers  in  Poland,  and  it  was  six  months  be- 
fore Sobieski  could  start  south.  Meanwhile 
the  Turkish  forces  had  overrun  Hungary  and 
advanced  up  the  Danube  to  the  very  walls  of 
Vienna,  outside  which  their  vast  armies  lay  en- 
camped for  miles  around.  Turkish  engineers 
had  already  undermined  the  walls,  and  the  cap- 
ture of  the  hungry  and  disease-stricken  city  was 
only  a  question  of  a  very  short  time  when  the 
Poles  arrived.  Shouting  "Sobieski  forever,** 
they  threw  themselves  upon  the  Turks  and  the 
terror  of  Sobieski's  name,  as  well  as  his  skill 
and  the  fighting  qualities  of  his  troops,  won 
the  day.  All  Europe  rejoiced  that  Vienna  was 
saved  and  Christendom  preserved  from  the 
invasion  of  the  infidel.    Venice  and  the  Em- 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       155 

peror  joined  in  following  up  this  victory,  and 
soon  Hungary  was  cleared  of  the  Turks  and 
their  retreat  from  the  border  countries  was 
under  way.  The  Treaty  of  Carlowitz  which 
closed  the  war  was  not  made  till  1699,  but  by  it 
Poland  recovered  Podolia  and  Kamieniec  which 
an  earlier  treaty  had  left  in  Turkish  hands. 

But  even  the  prestige  of  this  victory  did  not 
enable  the  King  to  control  the  quarrels  of  his 
subjects,  and  he  died  in  1696,  broken-hearted 
over  the  coming  ruin  of  his  country  which  on 
his  death-bed  he  plainly  saw  and  foretold. 

So  low  had  Poland  sunk  by  this  time  that  the 
election  of  her  new  king  was  a  matter  about 
which  she  herself  had  little  to  say.  Among 
eighteen  candidates  the  only  two  who  had  any 
chance  of  election  were  foreigners,  Frederick 
Augustus,  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  the  French 
candidate,  the  Prince  of  Conti.  France  bribed 
very  liberally,  but  the  threat  of  Peter  the  Great 
now  Czar  of  Muscovy,  that  he  would  declare 
war  on  Poland  if  Conti  was  elected,  was  even 
more  effective  than  French  gold,  and  the  arrival 
of  Augustus  with  his  pockets  full  of  money, 
after  all  the  others  had  spent  theirs,  completed 
the  argument  in  his  favor  and  he  was  elected 
and  crowned  king  as  Augustus  H,  in  September, 
1697.  A  large  party  in  the  Diet,  however,  had 


156    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

proclaimed  Stanislaus  Leszczynski  king,  and 
the  first  act  of  Augustus  was  to  drive  him  out 
and  to  win  over  his  chief  adherents,  by  bribes, 
to  the  Saxon  side. 

The  chief  event  in  the  reign  of  Augustus  II 
was  the  participation  of  Poland  in  the  Great 
Northern  War.  When  Charles  XI  of  Sweden 
died  in  1697,  leaving  a  minor  son  as  his  heir, 
ajj_  the  enemies  of  Sweden,  —  Denmark,  Rus- 
sia, Brandenburg,  and  Poland,  —  thinking  her 
moment  of  weakness  had  arrived,  joined^n  a 
league  to  despoil  her  of  the  territories  they  all 
coveted.  Never  was  a  band  of  robbers  more 
entirely  mistaken  in  their  estimate  of  a  char- 
V^acter  and  a  situation.  Though  young,  the  new 
King,  Charles  XII,  was  a  born  soldier  and  a 
general  of  genius;  and  his  army  though  small 
was  well  trained  and  of  fine  material.  Striking 
first  at  one  enemy,  then  at  another,  jumping 
with  amazing  speed  from  one  part  of  the  coun- 
try to  another,  he  was  everywhere  successful, 
and  in  1 706-1 707  his  camp  was  the  center  of 
European  diplomacy  where  both  sides  in  the 
great  war  then  waging  in  western  Europe,  the 
War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  competed  for 
his  alliance. 

Though  it  was  the  King  as  Elector  of  Saxony 
who  had  made  this  war,  it  was  his  Polish  king- 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       157 

dom  that  suffered  from  it.  After  Charles  had 
defeated  Augustus  he  deposed  him  from  the 
Polish  throne  and  put  in  his  place  that  same 
Stanislaus  Leszczynski  whom  Augustus  had 
driven  out  a  few  years  before.  But  the  reorgan- 
ization of  Russia,  under  Peter  the  Great,  led  to 
the  defeat  of  Charles  at  Poltava  in  1709,  the 
withdrawal  of  the  Swedes  from  Poland,  and  the 
flight  of  the  King  whom  they  had  made. 

But  whether  her  king  was  Pole  or  Saxon, 
whether  she  was  victorious  or  defeated,  made 
little  real  difference  to  Poland  during  these 
years.  Friend  and  foe  alike  treated  her  as  if  she 
had  no  political  existence  —  which  was  indeed 
very  near  to  the  truth.  Swedes,  Saixons,  and 
Russians  marched  back  and  forth  across  the 
country,  plundering  and  destroying  wherever 
they  went,  and  the  Polish  magnates  took  sides 
in  the  conflict  quite  as  it  pleased  them  per- 
sonally, supporting  Augustus,  Stanislaus,  or 
Charles  XII,  with  equal  ease  and  without  any 
apparent  sense  of  the  national  interests.  When 
the  war  ended  in  1720,  the  ruin  that  John 
Sobieski  had  foretold  for  Poland  had  already 
overtaken  her. 

But  though  ruined  Poland  was  still  of  impor- 
tance in  the  field  of  European  diplomacy.  Aus- 
tria, Russia,  and  France  all  regarded  her  with 


158     BRIEF   HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

interest  and  wove  about  her  a  tangled  web  of 
diplomatic  intrigue,  in  which  she  was  caught 
and  held  like  a  helpless  fly  in  the  web  of  a  spider. 
With  the  accession  of  Michael  Romanoff  to 
the  czardom  a  new  era  dawned  in  the  history  of 
Muscovy,  and  in  the  succeeding  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  she  developed  into  one  of  the 
great  Powers  of  Europe.  Under  Michael  and  his 
successor  Alexis,  order  and  some  measure  of 
prosperity  were  restored  to  Russia,  and  the  way 
was  prepared  for  the  son  and  successor  of  Alexis, 
Peter  the  Great,  who  undertook  the  great  task 
of  bringing  Russia  once  more  into  contact  with 
western  Europe  from  which  she  had  been  cut 
off  for  four  hundred  years  by  her  long  subjec- 
tion to  Tartar  rule,  and  its  consequences.  To 
restore  her  contact  with  western  Europe  it 
was  necessary  to  reach  the  Baltic  where  the 
King  of  Sweden  was  at  this  time  supreme  (he 
ruled  Western  Pomerania  and  all  the  East  Bal- 
tic Coast  north  of  Courland  besides  Sweden 
proper),  and  from  which  Muscovy  was  com- 
pletely shut  off.  The  best  efforts  of  the  early 
years  of  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great  were  spent 
in  preparing  the  country  for  this  task,  and  the 
Great  Northern  War  which  brought  about  the 
ruin  of  Poland  gave  Peter  his  opportunity  and 
was   the  beginning  of   Muscovy*s  greatness. 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       159 

Peter  used  his  opportunity  to  the  full.  For 
twenty  years  he  fought,  sustained  defeat,  re- 
organized his  army  and  his  government,  and 
fought  again,  and  when  the  peace  was  finally 
signed  at  Nystadt,  in  172 1,  it  left  Peter  in  proud 
possession  of  Carelia,  Ingria,  Esthonia,  and 
Livonia.  Her  "little  window  to  the  West"  was 
wide  open,  and  Muscovy  was  looking  out  ready 
to  take  part  in  the  commerce  and  the  life  of  the 
Western  world. 

It  was  after  the  Peace  of  Nystadt  that  Peter 
took  the  title  of  **  Emperor  of  all  Russia,"  a 
title  which  a  number  of  his  predecessors  had 
desired,  but  had  not  been  strong  enough  to  as- 
sume in  the  face  of  opposition  from  Poland  who 
was  also  a  ruler  of  Russian  lands.  But  Polish 
opposition  was  now  of  no  importance.  On  the 
contrary,  one  of  the  most  significant  results  of 
the  Northern  War  was  that  it  left  Russian  in- 
fluence already  well  established  in  Poland.  It 
was  Peter  the  Great  who  restored  Augustus  II 
to  the  Polish  throne  in  1709,  and  it  was  Peter's 
ambassador  who  obliged  Augustus  to  accept 
the  arrangements  of  Nystadt  which  left  Poland 
with  no  compensation  at  all  for  the  losses  and 
the  sacrifices  of  nearly  twenty  years  of  warfare. 
Peter  planned  quite  consciously  to  bring  Po- 
land under  Russian  rule,  and  Catharine  II  in 


i6o    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

this,  as  in  most  of  her  other  policies,  but  carried 
out  his  far-reaching  and  far-seeing  plans. 

In  western  Europe  also  the  Treaties  of  West- 
phalia which  closed  the  Thirty  Years'  War  had 
opened  a  new  political  era.  The  great  ques- 
tions which  agitated  Europe  after  1648  were  no 
longer  the  religious  questions  that  for  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  had  determined  her  policies 
and  dictated  her  alliances,  but  questions  of  terri- 
torial aggrandizement.  On  the  ruins  of  feudal- 
ism, to  which  as  a  system  of  government  the 
wars  of  religion  had  given  the  final,  irretriev- 
able blow,  the  bases  of  the  modern  European 
state  system  were  being  laid  down.  Territori- 
ally great  and  strongly  centralized  monarchies 
were  being  created  by  conquest  and  maintained 
by  force,  and  questions  of  defensible  boundaries 
became  of  paramount  importance.  Of  the  two 
greatest  of  these  boundary  questions,  the  ri- 
valry of  France  and  Austria  for  the  Rhine,  and 
of  Austria  and  Russia  for  the  Danube,  that  of 
the  Rhine  was  already  in  existence  before  1648, 
and  France's  interest  in  the  election  of  the  kings 
of  Poland  all  during  the  seventeenth  century 
was  the  result  of  her  policy,  already  well  de- 
fined, of  keeping  a  barrier  of  states  friendly  to 
France  in  the  Emperor's  rear  ready  to  strike 
him  in  the  back  if  he  attacked  France  on  the 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       i6i 

Rhine.  Turkey,  Poland,  and  Sweden  formed 
such  a  barrier  for  several  generations,  and 
France's  alliance  with  Russia  in  the  nineteenth 
century  —  the  Dual  Alliance  —  is  but  the  lat- 
est form  of  this  same  idea. 

Under  Louis  XIV  Polish  friendship  was  care- 
fully cultivated,  Polish  kings  married  French 
princesses  (the  queens  of  Wladislaus  IV,  John 
Casimir,  and  John  Sobieski  were  all  French), 
and  the  French  party  at  the  court  of  Warsaw 
was  able  and  influential.  But  under  the  Re- 
gency and  Louis  XV  this  policy,  like  most 
others  of  the  "Great  Monarch,"  was  less  effec- 
tively carried  out  and  France  sustained  some 
serious  diplomatic  defeats.  But  the  policy  was 
kept  up,  and  on  the  death  of  Augustus  II,  in 
I733>  France  made  a  vigorous  effort  to  re- 
vive her  waning  prestige  in  Poland  by  bringing 
about  the  election  of  a  king  who  would  rep- 
resent and  serve  her  interests.  The  candidate 
whom  she  chose  to  support  on  this  occasion  was 
the  ex-King  Stanislaus  Leszczynski,  who  was 
also  the  father-in-law  of  the  King  of  France, 
his  daughter  Marie  having  married  Louis  XV 
in  1725.  Stanislaus  was  also  supported  by  the 
best  element  among  the  Polish  magnates  and 
as  a  "Piast"  was  favored  by  the  majority  of 
the  population. 


i62    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Encouraged  by  the  statement  of  the  French 
Government  that  France  intended  to  defend 
against  every  enemy  the  liberties  of  Poland,  "a 
power  to  whom  France  was  bound  by  all  the 
ties  of  honor  and  friendship,"  and  backed  up 
by  the  power  of  French  gold  which  flowed  very 
freely  through  the  fingers  of  the  French  Ambas- 
sador, Monti,  the  Polish  Primate  and  Interrex, 
Theodore  Potocki,  and  his  party  rallied  the 
country  to  the  support  of  Stanislaus,  and  in 
September,  1733,  he  was  elected  King  of  Po- 
land. 

But  his  election  was  only  the  beginning  of  his 
difficulties.  The  opposition  of  Austria  to  any 
candidate  supported  by  France  was  inevita- 
ble, as  was  also  that  of  Russia  to  the  friend  of 
Sweden  and  her  age-long  enemy  Turkey,  and 
these  two  Powers  issued  a  joint  protest  against 
the  candidature  of  Stanislaus  Leszczynski. 
They  had  no  candidate  in  mind  to  propose  in 
his  place,  but  they  speedily  adopted  the  Elector 
of  Saxony,  the  son  of  Augustus  II,  and  under- 
took to  put  him  on  the  Polish  throne.  It  could 
be  done  only  by  force  of  arms,  so  twenty  thou- 
sand Russians  and  ten  thousand  Cossacks  were 
sent  into  Poland.  King  Stanislaus  having  no 
army  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  Danzig  and 
there  await  French  assistance.    Without  diffi- 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       163 

culty,  therefore,  the  Russians  entered  Warsaw 
in  October,  got  together  a  handful  of  Senators 
and  Nuncios  and  obliged  them  to  proclaim  the 
Elector  of  Saxony  King  of  Poland.  But  Dan- 
zig still  held  out,  and  it  was  eight  months  be- 
fore the  Russians  could  force  it  to  surrender, 
though  the  help  sent  by  France  was  wholly 
inadequate  and  surrender  was  a  foregone  con- 
clusion. 

The  reign  of  Augustus  III,  which  lasted  for 
thirty  years  (i  733-1 763),  was  a  period  of  al- 
most complete  stagnation.  Poland  simply  con- 
tinued to  exist,  but  without  new  laws  because 
all  the  Diets  were  "exploded";  without  foreign 
ambassadors  because  the  szlachta  did  not  want 
to  pay  them;  without  even  that  minimum  of 
executive  activity  which  Poland  had  had  here- 
tofore, because  the  King,  who  was  indolent  by 
disposition  and  very  indifferent  to  the  interests 
of  his  Polish  kingdom,  lived  in  Saxony,  visited 
Poland  infrequently,  and  left  the  government 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  his  Chief  Minister, 
Count  Bruhl.  Briihl  tried  at  first  to  introduce 
some  order  and  authority  into  Poland's  an- 
archy, but  found  himself  balked  at  every  turn 
by  the  determined  opposition  of  the  Poles 
themselves  and  the  less  obvious  but  no  less  per- 
sistent opposition  of  both  Austria  and  Russia. 


i64    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

There  were  now  as  always  in  Poland  a  few 
people  who  realized  the  evils  and  dangers  of  her 
Constitution  and  of  the  public  opinion  which 
supported  it.  These  men  did  their  best  to 
change  the  situation,  both  by  introducing  an 
entirely  new  system  of  education  which  they 
hoped  would  lead  to  sounder  political  theories 
and  ideals,  as  well  as  by  attempting,  once  more, 
to  bring  about  an  immediate  constitutional  re- 
form. In  these  endeavors  the  great  educational 
reformer  Stanislaus  Konarsky  worked  hand  in 
hand  with  the  Czartoryski,  a  Lithuanian  mag- 
nate family  of  enormous  wealth  and  great  po- 
litical importance.  They  were  related  to  the 
Jagiellos  and  were  distinguished  above  all  other 
Poles  of  the  period  for  their  civic  virtues  and 
their  intelligent  interest  in  public  affairs.  Their 
family  connections  and  official  position,  com- 
bined with  their  great  wealth  and  public  spirit, 
gave  them  such  preeminence  that  they  were 
generally  referred  to  simply  as  "The  Family" 
by  their  contemporaries. 

Prince  Michael  Czartoryski,  Chancellor  of 
Lithuania  and  the  head  of  the  family,  and  his 
brother,  Prince  Augustus,  Palatine  of  Red  Rus- 
sia, were  the  leaders  of  a  small  political  group 
that  desired  to  overthrow  the  republic  and 
make  Poland  an  absolute  monarchy  as  the  only 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       165 

means  of  saving  her.  They  were  the  intimate 
and  trusted  friends  of  Count  Brlihl,  and  during 
the  first  twenty  years  of  the  reign  of  Augustus 
III  Briihl  left  Polish  affairs  very  largely  in  their 
hands.  When,  however,  all  their  plans  of  re- 
form failed  because  their  opponents  **  exploded'* 
every  Diet  and  annulled  every  "Confedera- 
tion" by  a  "Counter-Confederation,"  and  thus 
prevented  them  from  ever  getting  their  pro- 
posals before  the  country,  they  urged  Briihl  to 
provide  the  force  for  a  coup  d'etat.  When  he  re- 
fused, fearing  to  lose  Poland  entirely,  the  Czar- 
toryski  turned  against  both  him  and  the  King 
and  tried  to  get  the  aid  of  Russia  to  dethrone 
Augustus  and  put  in  his  place  a  king  of  their 
own  choosing,  a  native  Pole  pledged  to  carry 
out  their  ideas. 

Nothing  could  have  shown  more  clearly  than 
this  proposal  their  utter  ignorance  of  the  mo- 
tives and  forces  at  work  in  the  politics  of  Eu- 
rope or  the  hopelessness  of  Poland's  case  in  their 
hands.  The  years  of  Poland's  stagnation  had 
been  years  of  struggle  and  momentous  achieve- 
ment among  her  neighbors.  In  Russia  the  suc- 
cessors of  Peter  the  Great  had  consolidated  his 
conquests  and  maintained  and  strengthened 
the  position  he  had  won  for  Russia  in  Europe, 
and  the  country  was  almost   ready  to  take 


i66    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

another  long  stride  along  the  path  marked  out 
for  her  by  Peter.  This  path  led  directly  over  a 
conquered  and  dependent  Poland,  and  nothing 
was  further  from  the  mind  of  the  Russian  Em- 
press than  the  strengthening  of  Poland's  king- 
ship. In  Brandenburg- Prussia  also,  Frederick 
the  Great  had  succeeded  to  the  throne  in  1740 
and  was  already  embarked  on  the  career  of  con- 
quest that  was  to  make  his  little  state  a  Eu- 
ropean Power.  He  too  had  designs  on  Poland 
and  was  already  astutely  hinting  to  Russia  that 
they  might  combine. 

In  1763  Augustus  III  died,  and  in  that  very 
year  the  close  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  left 
Prussia  and  Russia  free  to  turn  their  attention 
to  Poland. 


CHAPTER   IV 

POLISH  SOCIETY  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURY 

During  the  Jagiellon  period  Poland  had  de- 
veloped into  a  great  Power  and  had  made  a 
constitution  which  the  next  hundred  years  put 
to  the  test  of  experience.  The  Constitution  was 
unable  to  meet  the  test.  Power  was  wholly  in 
the  hands  of  the  nobility,  who,  narrow  and 
ignorant,  did  not  see  the  necessity  of  strong 
government,  and  neither  allowed  the  king  to 
exercise  any  compulsion  on  their  order  nor  ex- 
ercised it  themselves.  This  period  of  the  late 
sixteenth  and  the  early  seventeenth  century 
was  exactly  the  period  when  states  about 
Poland  were  building  up  strong  governments. 
They  were  making,  out  of  just  such  loosely 
organized  elements  and  very  much  such  turbu- 
lent and  lawless  nobilities,  organized  and  dis- 
ciplined entities  that  developed  into  modern 
states,  and  Pol  and  *s  development  in  the  op- 
posite direction  put  her  at  a  disadvantage  from 
which  she  never  recovered.  Perhaps,  as  many 
writers  claim,  it  was  not  necessary  for  Poland 
to  develop  a  despotic  kingship;  a  strong,  en- 


i68    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

lightened  oligarchy  might  have  given  her  good 
government,  but  her  best  chance  of  success  lay 
probably  in  a  strong  king.  She  was  in  much 
the  position  of  England  under  the  Lancastrian 
kings,  when  Parliament  had  powers  that  it  was 
not  sufficiently  disciplined  or  developed  or  ex- 
perienced to  use.  The  English  Parliament  lent 
those  powers  to  the  Tudors  and  submitted  to 
discipline.  The  Poles  would  not  resign  the  use 
of  their  powers  and  destruction  followed.  In 
England  it  was  popular  confidence  in  the  mon- 
archy that  made  the  Tudor  despotism  possi- 
ble. In  Poland  hereditary  right  might  possibly 
have  given  a  really  able  king  the  opportunity 
to  win  the  confidence  of  the  most  suspicious 
of  peoples  and  induce  them  to  submit  to  a 
government  that  would  have  preserved  order 
at  home  and  have  kept  Poland  respected  and 
wholesomely  feared  by  her  neighbors.  But  any 
such  chance  —  and  it  was  a  slim  one  —  was  lost 
when  the  Jagiellon  dynasty  came  to  an  end 
with  Sigismund  II  and  the  theory  of  the  elec- 
tive kingship  became  a  disastrous  reality. 

The  fact  that  they  were  the  "makers  of 
kings"  and  could  unmake  them  at  will  en- 
hanced enormously  the  self-esteem  and  self- 
confidence  of  the  szlachta,  already  dangerously 
great.  There  is  no  evidence  that  any,  even  the 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  169 

faintest,  suspicion  of  their  own  competence  or 
the  fallibility  of  their  judgment  ever  assailed  the 
Polish  nobility.  Many  of  Poland's  kings  saw 
her  desperate  needs  and  tried  to  meet  them, 
but  the  szlachta,  blind  to  the  interests  of  the 
country  as  a  whole,  regarded  every  attempt 
at  effective  government  as  an  attack  on  their 
own  privileges,  their  "liberty,'*  and  opposed  it. 
But  though  strenuous  in  opposition,  the  szlachta 
took  no  initiative  themselves  for  the  promotion 
of  the  public  welfare.  They  seemed  to  feel,  in- 
deed, that  if  they  prevented  any  infringement 
of  the  liberty  of  the  individual  noble,  the  gen- 
eral welfare  would  look  out  for  itself.  As  they 
would  not  govern  and  the  king  could  not,  the 
quite  natural  and  inevitable  result  was  that 
Poland  had  no  government,  and  anarchy  and 
its  resulting  weakness  led  her  straight  to  her 
fall. 

The  responsibility  for  Poland's  fall  thus  rests 
with  her  nobility.  They  formed  only  about 
eight  per  cent  of  the  population  —  not  more 
than  a  million  out  of  a  total  of  between  twelve 
and  thirteen  million  souls  —  and  comprised 
people  of  a  very  different  sort  from  the  nobili- 
ties of  other  European  countries.  In  Poland 
any  one  was  noble  who  possessed  a  freehold 
estate  or  could  prove  descent  from  ancestors 


170    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

who  possessed  one,  who  was  not  engaged  in 
either  trade  or  commerce,  and  who  was  legally 
free  to  live  where  he  chose.  All  nobles  were 
equal  by  birth,  and  titles  or  honors  gave  no 
right  of  precedence  or  other  advantage.  Each 
noble  was  a  lawmaker,  an  elector  of  kings,  and 
eligible  himself  to  election  to  the  kingship.  But 
though  theoretically  powerful,  the  szlachta  as  a 
whole  were  really  very  weak.  The  development 
of  the  liberty  of  the  individual  had  been  pushed 
so  far  that  by  the  eighteenth  century  it  had 
defeated  its  own  ends.  The  Diets  met  only  to 
be  "exploded,"  and  the  szlachta  were  quite  as 
powerless  to  make  new  laws  as  the  kings  were 
to  carry  out  the  old  ones.  Society  had  returned 
to  that  primitive  state  where  the  power  of  the 
individual  was  the  only  decisive  force. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  a  few  great  magnate  fami- 
lies were  so  strong  that  they  practically  ruled 
the  country.  There  were  perhaps  eight  or  ten 
such  families  in  Poland  and  as  many  more  in 
Lithuania,  and  their  names,  such  as  Czar- 
toryski,  Potocki,  Radziwill,  Lubomirski,  occur 
on  nearly  every  page  of  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  century  Polish  history.  Land  was 
the  only  source  of  wealth  open  to  their  class, 
and  the  estates  which  they  owned  and  ruled 
were  of  enormous  size  —  far  larger  than  many 


THE  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY     171 

of  the  contemporary  German  and  Italian  states 
—  and  their  wealth  of  almost  fabulous  propor- 
tions. They  also  held,  among  them,  all  the  great 
offices  of  state  in  the  gift  of  the  king. 

These  "dynasts"  conducted  themselves  like 
the  sovereigns  they  really  were.  Their  "courts,** 
as  they  called  their  establishments,  were  mod- 
eled on  the  official  court,  and  in  many  cases 
far  surpassed  that  of  the  king  in  both  size  and 
splendor.  Like  the  king,  they  had  their  treas- 
urers, chamberlains,  major-domos,  equerries, 
and  other  state  officials,  while  their  wives  had 
their  ladies-in-waiting,  ladies  of  the  bed-cham- 
ber, pages,  and  so  on,  quite  like  queens.  At- 
tached to  each  court  was  what  was  called  the 
*'  house  militia,"  which  was  really  a  standing 
army.  As  it  was  the  privilege  of  each  Polish 
gentleman  to  keep  as  many  armed  men  in  at- 
tendance upon  him  as  he  desired  and  could  pay 
for,  these  private  armies  often  numbered  five 
to  ten  thousand  men  —  and  this  at  the  very 
time  when  the  most  serious  wounds  were  in- 
flicted upon  the  country  by  Swedes,  Musco- 
vites, and  Tartars  because  the  king  could  not 
get  an  army  of  sufficient  size  to  guard  the  fron- 
tier and  could  not  pay  it  when  he  got  it !  Horse 
and  foot  guards  kept  sentry  day  and  night  at 
the  gates  of  these  "courts,"  and  the  "dynasts" 


172    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

kept  up  direct  correspondence  with  foreign 
monarchs   and   began   their  communications, 

*'We  by  the  Grace  of  God,"  quite  in 

the  kingly  fashion.  About  the  only  attribute 
of  royalty  which  they  did  not  possess  was  the 
privilege  of  coining  money,  which  was  reserved 
to  the  king. 

Extravagance  and  a  somewhat  barbaric  love 
of  display,  which  characterized  their  class,  gave 
their  courts  a  sumptuousness  and  a  pictur- 
esqueness  that  was  quite  strange  to  western 
Europe.  The  Polish  national  dress,  which  in 
the  eighteenth  century  was  still  very  generally 
worn,  and  consisted  of  a  robe  of  cloth  with 
hanging  sleeves  belted  in  with  a  sash  and  worn 
over  a  vest  of  silk,  high  boots  meeting  the  robe 
at  the  knee,  and  a  cap  bordered  with  fur,  made 
the  Polish  gentleman  far  more  Oriental  than 
Western  in  appearance.  Besides  the  house 
militia  the  courts  of  the  magnates  were  full  of 
retainers  of  a  more  plebeian  sort,  —  peasants, 
Cossacks,  Tartars,  and  others,  who  acted  as 
messengers  and  lackeys  at  home  and  swelled 
the  number  of  the  magnate's  following  when 
he  went  abroad.  They  wore  gorgeous  and  bar- 
baric liveries  which  gave  a  marked  Oriental 
character  to  the  appearance  of  the  court. 

Although  a  few  of  the  magnates  had  received 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  173 

everything  that  western  Europe  had  to  offer 
in  the  way  of  education,  and  were  as  widely 
informed,  as  highly  cultivated,  and  as  cosmo- 
politan people  as  there  were  in  Europe,  the  ma- 
jority of  upper-class  Poles,  the  old-fashioned 
country  magnates,  had  little  education  them- 
selves and  provided  little  for  their  children. 
Most  of  them  could  write,  but  so  illegibly  that 
when  an  old-fashioned  gentleman  wrote  a  letter 
it  was  customary  to  send  a  copy  made  by  his 
secretary  along  with  the  original  in  the  interests 
of  clarity.  Hunting  big  game  which  abounded 
in  their  forests,  riding  and  looking  after  their 
estates,  where  they  acted  as  judges  and  meted 
out  what  went  by  the  name  of  justice  to  their 
peasants,  were  their  chief  occupations  when  at 
home.  Many  of  them,  however,  spent  most  of 
their  time  playing  the  game  of  politics  which 
kept  them  away  from  home  a  great  part  of  the 
time,  and  their  stewards,  who  were  mostly 
Jews,  managed  their  estates. 

But  the  majority  of  the  nobility  were  not 
magnates.  Many  of  them  formed  what  in  other 
countries  would  be  called  the  well-to-do  middle 
class.  They  owned  enough  land  to  support 
themselves  and  their  families  in  comfort  if  they 
stayed  quietly  at  home,  looked  after  their 
estates  themselves,  and  left  the  expensive  and 


174    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

absorbing  game  of  politics  to  their  richer 
brethren.  They  were  ignorant,  prejudiced,  and 
very  conservative,  but  in  spite  of  these  faults 
were  probably  the  best  of  Poland's  citizens. 

Another  and  perhaps  the  largest  section  of 
the  szlachta  were  by  no  means  well-to-do.  Un- 
able to  go  into  trade  without  losing  their  rank ; 
unable  to  serve  in  the  national  army  because, 
practically,  there  no  longer  was  one ;  possessing 
very  little  land,  too  little  to  give  them  a  decent 
living;  or,  more  often,  having  lost  the  little  that 
had  made  their  families  noble,  these  nobles  were 
quite  as  poor  as  the  peasants  upon  whom  they 
looked  down  as  from  a  great  height.  They  were 
very  humbly  grateful  for  the  opportunity  to 
attach  themselves  to  the  courts  and  enter  the 
service  of  their  magnate  relatives  or  neighbors, 
which  offered  them,  indeed,  almost  their  only 
means  of  livelihood.  It  was  this  class  that 
supplied  the  magnates  with  their  house  militia 
and  most  of  their  other  retainers.  They  were 
fed,  housed,  and  clothed  by  the  magnate,  and 
in  return  fought  his  battles  with  his  neighbors 
and  accompanied  him  to  the  meetings  of  the 
local  Dietine,  where  their  votes  as  well  as  their 
arms  were  completely  at  his  service  and  pre- 
served for  him  that  complete  ascendancy  over 
the  whole  countryside  that  the  "liberty"  of  a 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY    175 

Polish  magnate  required.  The  children  of  many 
of  them,  who  were  kinsmen  of  the  magnate, 
were  adopted  by  him,  brought  up  with  his  own 
children,  and  given  the  same  advantages;  the 
sons  were  provided  with  some  lucrative  public 
post  which  made  them  independent  and  the 
daughters  were  well  married.  But  there  was 
also  another  side  to  this  service.  In  many 
houses  no  rooms  or  even  beds  were  provided 
for  the  majority  of  the  retainers,  who  slept  in 
the  kitchens,  on  stairways,  or  in  the  stables  — 
wherever  they  could  find  a  board  to  lie  on.  They 
did  also  hard  and  menial  work  and  were  beaten 
or  otherwise  punished  in  quite  the  same  ways 
as  were  the  servants  of  the  peasant  class.  But 
in  spite  of  all  this  the  rank  of  the  szlachcic  was 
always  recognized ;  whatever  his  occupation  he 
could  always  wear  a  sword,  which  entitled  him 
to  the  deference  paid  by  all  the  peasants  to  a 
gentleman,  and  when  he  was  beaten  it  was  his 
privilege  always  to  have  a  carpet  under  him !  • 
The  worst  vices  of  the  nobility,  rich  and  poor 
alike,  were  gluttony  and  drunkenness.  Perhaps 
their  chief  virtue  was  hospitality,  but  their  love 
of  display  often  made  their  hospitality  a  heavy 
tax  upon  their  resources,  and  their  habits  of 
eating  and  drinking  to  excess  meant  that  their 
entertainments  often  degenerated  into  mere 


176    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

orgies  where  vast  sums  were  wasted,  which  all 
too  often  were  urgently  needed  to  improve  the 
conditions  of  the  peasantry. 

All  contemporary  observers  seem  to  agree 
that  in  the  eighteenth  century  Polish  peasant 
conditions  were  the  worst  in  all  Europe.  By  a 
series  of  laws,  passed  chiefly  during  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  free  Polish  peasants  or  kmetens 
lost  all  their  freedom  and  became  practically 
the  chattels  of  the  nobility.  Forbidden  to  own 
land  or  to  move  from  one  estate  to  another, 
they  became  serfs  on  the  lands  of  the  Crown, 
the  Church,  and  the  lay  nobility, and  were  with- 
out legal  rights.  The  lord  of  the  land  held  the 
only  courts  of  justice  to  which  they  had  access, 
and  from  his  decisions  there  was  no  appeal.  He 
even  determined  the  religion  of  his  peasants, 
and  if  he  killed  one  of  them  his  only  punishment 
was  the  payment  of  a  fine.  King  Stanislaus 
Leszczynski  said  that  Poland  was  the  only 
country  where  the  common  people  were  de- 
prived of  evefi  the  rights  of  humanity. 

Nor  did  physical  well-being  at  all  mitigate 
the  misery  of  their  legal  position.  On  the 
contrary,  there  were  no  more  wretched  beings 
in  the  world  than  the  Polish  peasants.  Their 
houses  were  merely  shelters  without  beds, 
chairs,  tables,  or  any  other  of  the  most  neces- 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  177 

sary  furniture.  They  slept  on  straw,  often  on 
the  same  straw  as  their  cattle,  and  were  re- 
garded as  little  more  than  beasts  by  their 
masters  who  treated  them  with  a  cruelty  that 
is  almost  incredible.  Living  in  filth  without 
proper  clothes,  food,  or  care,  only  about  half  of 
the  children  lived  to  grow  up,  and  those  who  did 
had,  indeed,  small  incentive  to  do  so.  Forced 
labor  on  the  lord's  land,  fixed  quite  arbitrarily 
by  the  lord  on  Sundays  as  well  as  week  days  if 
it  suited  his  pleasure  or  convenience,  often  re- 
duced the  time  at  the  disposal  of  the  peasant 
for  the  cultivation  of  his  own  little  plot  to  a 
minimum  too  small  to  yield  him  a  living;  but 
in  spite  of  that  he  was  obliged  to  pay  a  part  of 
that  small  harvest  to  the  lord,  and  in  the  forest 
regions  half  of  all  he  trapped  or  shot  likewise 
belonged  to  the  lord.  Living  (if  indeed  exist- 
ence under  such  circumstances  can  be  called 
living!)  on  the  edge  of  starvation  in  normal 
times,  in  a  bad  harvest  year  the  peasants  died 
like  flies.  It  is  small  wonder  that  they  felt 
that  any  change  in  their  condition  must  be  for 
the  better,  and  that  they  made  from  time  to 
time  the  most  savage  insurrections  against  the 
lords,  of  which  that  led  by  the  Cossack  Bogdan 
Chmielnicki  is  a  notable  and  terrible  example. 
When  one  remembers  that  the  peasantry  formed 


178    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

over  seventy  per  cent  of  the  population,  that 
here  as  elsewhere  their  welfare  was  a  necessary 
condition  of  the  welfare  of  the  whole  country, 
and  that  they  were  a  laborious  and  naturally 
intelligent  people  with  a  history  of  happy  and 
prosperous  years  behind  them,  it  is  indeed  a 
heavy  load  of  responsibility  that  rests  upon  the 
szlachta  who  quite  arbitrarily  reduced  them, 
and  with  them  their  common  country,  to  such 
utter  misery. 

Only  less  sad  than  the  condition  of  the  peas- 
ants and  quite  as  significant  is  the  condition  of 
Poland's  towns.  In  the  early  fifteenth  cen- 
tury the  towns  were  numerous,  large,  and  pros- 
perous; they  were  represented  in  the  Diet  and 
were  of  political  as  well  as  economic  importance. 
The  Turkish  conquest  of  Constantinople,  which 
cut  off  the  Black  Sea  trade,  struck  them  their 
first  heavy  blow,  and  the  szlachta  followed  up 
this  economic  crisis  by  legislation  against  their 
political  position  and  by  artificial  trade  restric- 
tions which  made  their  recovery  of  lost  ground 
difficult  if  not  impossible.  The  devastation  of 
the  country  by  Swedes,  Turks,  and  Muscovites 
during  the  seventeenth  century  swept  away  all 
their  attempts  at  rehabilitation  and  left  them 
economically  ruined  even  when  they  escaped 
physical  destruction.  In  the  eighteenth  century 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY     179 

grass  was  growing  in  the  streets  of  Lemberg, 
while  Cracow  had  sunk  to  the  proportions  of  a 
small  provincial  town  of  sixteen  thousand  in- 
habitants. Even  Warsaw,  where  the  court  of 
the  king  stimulated  a  certain  amount  of  busi- 
ness, was  but  a  ghost  of  its  former  prosperous 
self.  In  these  and  all  the  towns  the  little  busi- 
ness that  remained  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Jews.  The  prosperous  Polish  and  Polonized- 
German  burghers  of  earlier  days  had  sunk  to  the 
social  and  economic  level  of  the  peasants  and 
were  scarcely  distinguishable  from  them. 

All  the  travelers  speak  of  the  great  natural 
riches  of  the  country,  its  forests,  mines,  and 
fertile  fields  with  their  vast  possibilities  of  pros- 
perity, and  equally  of  its  entire  economic  stag- 
nation. There  were  very  few  manufactures  and 
almost  no  commerce,  while  a  large  laboring 
population  starved  in  the  midst  of  riches  they 
did  not  use.  Some  observers  seemed  to  think 
that  even  under  the  bad  conditions  of  the 
eighteenth  century  far  more  prosperity  was 
possible  than  was  •enjoyed,  and  it  is  probably 
true.  The  slavery  of  the  peasant  had  killed  all 
his  ambition  and  interest  in  his  work,  and  cen- 
turies of  misfortune,  oppression,  and  injustice, 
as  well  as  the  vicious  influence  of  a  class  system 
which  made  work  degrading,  had  blunted  the 


i8o    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

initiative  of  the  Polish  burgher  and  had  bHnded 
him  even  to  the  possibiHties  that  were  open  to 
him.  With  a  grain  country  second  to  none  in 
Europe,  with  only  a  section  of  it  under  cultiva- 
tion, and  only  the  very  inadequate  local  market 
for  what  was  raised,  the  Poles  never  took  the 
pains  even  to  investigate  the  rich  possibilities 
of  opening  up  once  more  their  old  Black  Sea 
trade  by  sending  their  grain  down  the  Dniester 
through  Turkish  Moldavia.  The  same  thing 
was  true  in  regard  to  trade  with  Silesia  by  way 
of  the  river  Notez,  a  tributary  of  the  Oder,  which 
an  entirely  unfounded  report  declared  was 
not  navigable.  Frederick  the  Great  found  out 
that  it  was  navigable  even  before  he  invaded 
Silesia,  and  as  soon  as  the  region  came  under 
his  control  the  Notez  became  the  channel  for  a 
large  and  very  lucrative  trade. 

No  account  of  the  Polish  towns  would  be 
complete  without  some  mention  of  the  Jews. 
Though  they  formed  only  a  small  part  of  the 
population,  they  were  an  element  to  whose  im- 
portance in  the  life  of  the  eighteenth  century  all 
travelers  bear  witness.  The  English  traveler 
Coxe  says  that,  in  Lithuania  "if  you  ask  for  an 
interpreter,  tjiey  bring  you  a  Jew;  if  you  come 
to  an  inn,  the  landlord  is  a  Jew;  if  you  want 
post-horses,  a  Jew  procures  them  and  a  Jew 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  i8i 

drives  them ;  if  you  wish  to  purchase,  a  Jew  is 
your  agent :  this  perhaps  is  the  only  country  in 
Europe  where  Jews  cultivate  the  ground ;  and 
we  frequently  saw  them  engaged  in  sowing, 
reaping,  mowing,  and  other  works  of  hus- 
bandry.'* They  also  acted  as  stewards  for  the 
nobility,  and  the  management  of  nearly  all  the 
noble  estates  in  the  country  was  in  their  hands. 
They  were  practically  the  only  tradesmen  and 
artisans  and  general  business  class  that  the 
country  had.  They  picked  up  and  carried  on 
the  tasks  that  the  Poles  let  drop  because  they 
were  too  hard  or  too  unremunerative  or  too 
degrading  to  continue,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  the  country  could  have  got  on  without 
them. 

But  if  they  were  useful  to  Poland,  Poland  was 
a  haven  of  refuge  to  them.  Though  they  were 
disliked  and  persecuted  by  the  Polish  nobility, 
the  Jews  yet  found  in  Poland  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  a  measure  of  protection  and  toleration 
that  was  denied  them  everywhere  else  in  Europe. 

Boleslaus  the  Pious  in  1264  issued  a  charter 
of  liberties  to  the  Jews  in  Great  Poland  which 
was  confirmed  by  Casimir  the  Great  a  few  years 
later  and  extended  to  the  whole  kingdom.  This 
formed  the  foundation  of  the  legal  position  of 
the  Jews  for  nearly  five  hundred  years  and  was 


i82     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

confirmed  by  all  the  kings  of  Poland.  It  granted 
the  Jew  express  trading  privileges,  protected 
him  against  persecution,  and  allowed  him  to 
organize  his  own  life  under  his  own  law  just  as 
the  Germans  were  allowed  to  organize  under 
the  Teutonic  or  Magdeburg  Law.  The  charter 
expressly  permitted  the  Jews  to  receive  all  kinds 
of  pledges,  including  mortgages  on  the  estates 
of  the  nobility,  and  gave  them  entire  freedom 
of  transit,  of  trade,  and  of  financial  operations. 
They  were  exempted  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
both  municipal  and  ecclesiastical  courts  and 
were  placed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  personal 
representative  of  the  king,  who  was  known, 
though  a  Christian,  as  the  "Jewish  judge."  He 
was  not  permitted  to  convict  a  Jew  on  exclu- 
sively Christian  testimony,  and  was  obliged  to 
punish  an  injury  done  to  a  Jew  just  as  severely 
as  though  it  had  been  done  to  a  szlachcic.  His 
verdicts  also  had  to  be  approved  by  the  Jewish 
Elders,  who  could  themselves  try  certain  minor 
cases.  Particular  emphasis  was  laid  in  the 
charter  on  guarding  the  Jew  against  the  charges 
of  ritual  murder  and  violation  of  the  Host. 

Although  these  provisions  show  that  the 
kings  who  issued  them  wished,  as  the  charter 
quaintly  states,  that  "they  may  realize  during 
our  happy  reign  that  they  have  found  comfort 


THE  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY    183 

with  us,"  they  also  imply  that  the  kings  were 
practically  alone  in  that  desire.  It  is  sadly  true 
that  Church,  szlachta,  and  burghers  were  all 
opposed  to  the  Jews  and  fought  them  persist- 
ently. 

Prior  to  the  time  of  Sigismund  II,  who,  at  the 
request  of  the  Jews  themselves,  forbade  the  set- 
tlement of  any  more  Jews  in  Poland,  the  Pol- 
ish kings  had  encouraged  Jewish  immigration 
chiefly  for  two  reasons.  The  Jews  were  able  and 
willing  to  lend  money  to  the  kings  who  were  al- 
ways poor,  and  also  the  kings  hoped,  by  build- 
ing up  a  strong  trading  class  in  the  towns,  to 
counteract  the  growing  influence  of  the  szlachta. 
Furthermore,  the  Jews  were  willing  to  pay  well, 
not  only  for  the  trading  privileges  granted 
them,  but  also  for  the  mere  privilege  of  living  in 
Poland,  and  the  Jewish  poll-tax  formed  one  of 
the  most  important  items  in  the  king's  revenue. 
As  the  chief  capitalists  of  the  country,  also,  and 
its  only  financiers,  they  rendered  invaluable 
services  as  the  financial  agents  of  the  king  and 
the  court.  They  also  opened  up  the  mines  and 
quarries  of  the  country,  cut  its  timber,  and  in 
general  began  the  development  of  its  rich  and 
almost  untouched  resources. 

During  the  Jagiellon  period  the  kings  were 
usually  strong  enough  to  protect  the  Jews  from 


i84    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

the  worst  forms  of  persecution,  but  not  al- 
ways. Toward  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Siglsmund 
II,  three  Jews  were  burned  at  the  stake,  and 
during  the  succeeding  century  Jesuits,  burghers, 
and  szlachta  united  to  rob  them  of  most  of  their 
privileges  and  to  reduce  them  to  a  condition  as 
miserable  and  as  uncertain  as  that  of  their  race 
anywhere  in  Europe.^ 

Worst  of  all  was  the  fact  that  this  bitter 
struggle  and  its  resultant  misery  was  only  one 
instance  of  the  disunion  and  the  antagonisms 
of  race,  class,  and  religion  which  were  tearing 
Poland  to  pieces.  With  only  fifty  per  cent  of 
her  population  Polish  and  the  rest  a  medley 
of  Russians,  Lithuanians,  Jews,  Germans,  and 
Tartars,  the  problem  of  amalgamation  was 
necessarily  a  difficult  one  and  religious  differ- 
ences added  enormously  to  race  antagonism. 
It  was  a  fateful  moment  when  the  Poles,  who 
during  the  period  when  religious  wars  were 
practically  universal  had  set  an  example  of 
unity  and  tolerance  to  all  Europe,  began  them- 
selves in  the  late  seventeenth  century  a  period  of 
religious  persecution.  First  the  Protestants  and 
then  the  Orthodox  were  subjected  to  the  steady 

*  The  Ecclesiastical  Synod  of  1542  adopted  the  following 
resolution:  "Whereas  the  Church  tolerates  the  Jews  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  reminding  us  of  the  torments  of  the  Saviour, 
their  numbers  must  not  increase  under  any  circumstances." 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY    185 

pressure  of  Jesuit  intolerance,  which  reached  a 
climax  in  the  Acts  of  1717,  1733,  and  1736  by 
which  the  Dissidents  were  deprived  of  all  politi- 
cal and  civil  rights.  These  acts  threw  the  whole 
country  into  a  ferment  and  drove  the  Orthodox 
populations,  especially  those  of  the  southeast, 
to  the  very  edge  of  rebellion. 

In  the  long  struggle  of  class  against  class, 
religion  against  religion,  race  against  race,  of 
which  Poland  was  the  theater  during  the  closing 
century  of  her  existence  as  a  state,  the  last 
vestige  of  national  unity  disappeared.  The 
time  had  come,  that  more  than  a  hundred  years 
before  the  Jesuit  Skarga  had  foretold,  when  the 
enemy  of  the  Poles  would  come  in  and  destroy 
them  seeing  that,  "since  their  hearts  were  no 
longer  in  accord,  they  were  already  lost." 

Skarga,  who  was  the  friend  and  confessor  of 
Sigismund  III,  and  perhaps  the  greatest  of  the 
Polish  Jesuits,  had  seen  with  wonderful  clear- 
ness where  internal  disunion  and  weakness  were 
leading  his  country  and  with  a  truly  prophetic 
vision  had  foretold  her  fall. 

"Close  on  the  footsteps  of  your  dissensions,"  he 
said,  "will  come  the  despotism  of  a  foreigner  who 
will  destroy  all  your  liberties :  those  liberties  of  which 
you  are  so  proud  will  become  merely  a  tale  to  tell 
your  children  and  a  mockery  for  all  the  world.  Your 
children  and  their  families  will  die  in  misery  in  the 


1 86    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

hands  of  an  enemy  who  hates  them.  .  .  .  You  will  see 
your  language  destroyed,  and  your  race,  degenerate 
and  scattered,  condemned  to  .  .  .  adopt  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  a  people  who  hate  you  and 
whom  you  despise.  You  will  have  neither  king  nor 
the  right  to  choose  one,  neither  kingdom  nor  father- 
land. Exiled,  poor,  miserable,  and  without  a  coun- 
try, you  will  be  spurned  by  those  very  kingdoms 
who  now  seek  your  alliance." 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  LAST   KING  OF   POLAND 
THE   ERA  OF   PARTITION,    I763-I795 

I.  The  First  Partition 

Poland's  impotence  during  the  period  of 
her  decline  had  made  her  the  tool  of  foreign 
Powers,  a  pawn  in  the  game  of  European  di- 
plomacy, the  victim  of  the  ambitions  of  first  one 
and  then  another  of  the  rival  Powers, 

The  part  that  she  had  been  able  to  play  in 
the  War  of  the  Polish  Succession  and  in  the 
Seven  Years'  War  had  made  Russia  the  Power 
of  predominant  influence  in  Poland  in  1764,  and 
the  Empress  Catharine  II,  who  had  come  to  the 
throne  in  July,  1762,  was  a  ruler  who  knew  how 
to  make  the  most  of  that  position.  Of  great 
ability  and  boundless  ambition  it  was  Catha- 
rine's dream,  by  the  conquest  of  Poland,  Sweden, 
and  Turkey,  to  make  the  Baltic  and  the  Black 
Sea  Russian  lakes  and  to  rule  at  Constantinople, 
and  the  Seven  Years'  War  had,  she  thought,  put 
the  possibility  of  realizing  it  in  her  hand.  That 
war  had  established  the  claims  of  Russia  and 
her  neighbor,  Prussia,  to  rank  as  great  Powers 
in  Europe,  the  equals  of  the  older  states,  France, 


i88    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Austria,  and  Spain.  The  last  years  of  the  war 
also  had  seen  the  close  alliance  of  these  new 
Powers  as  a  result  of  the  accession  to  the  Rus- 
sian throne  of  Peter  III,  a  great  personal  ad- 
mirer of  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia.  This 
alliance,  dictated  by  the  personal  whim  of  a 
semi-idiotic  despot  rather  than  by  the  real  in- 
terests of  the  country,  was  retained  in  modified 
form  by  Catharine  when,  six  months  after  his 
accession,  she  usurped  her  husband's  throne. 
She  saw  in  the  Prussian  alliance  the  necessary 
condition  of  the  success  of  her  plans.  She  could 
not  hope  to  carry  them  out  unless  Frederick  the 
Great  was  willing  to  cooperate.  Frederick  on 
his  part  was  very  favorable  to  an  alliance, 
though  he  by  no  means  sympathized  with  all  of 
Catharine's  projects.  He  saw  in  friendship  with 
Russia  the  best  guaranty  of  the  peace  which 
was  essential  to  his  exhausted  country,  and  he 
was  not  at  all  averse  to  the  conquest  of  Sweden 
and  Poland,  always  provided  it  was  made  of 
advantage  to  him  —  and  he  trusted  himself  to 
see  that  it  was!  Most  important  of  all,  perhaps, 
at  this  moment  he  feared  the  youthful  might  of 
Russia,  and  thought  it  far  safer  to  be  friend 
than  foe  to  so  dangerous  a  neighbor. 

Accordingly  when  in  October,  1763,  the  death 
of  Augustus  III  of  Saxony  and  Poland  made 


THE   ERA  OF   PARTITION     189 

Immediate  action  in  Poland  necessary,  Russia 
and  Prussia  had  already  come  to  an  under- 
standing and  were  ready  to  sign  a  treaty 
(March,  1764)  by  which  they  agreed  (i)  to 
place  Prince  Stanislaus  Poniatowski  on  the 
throne  of  Poland  and  keep  him  there  by  armed 
assistance  if  necessary;  (2)  to  maintain  the 
existing  Constitution  in  Poland;  and  (3)  to 
oblige  the  Polish  Diet  to  grant  complete  politi- 
cal equality  to  the  Polish  Dissidents. 

Maintaining  the  Polish  Constitution  meant, 
in  plain  language,  preventing  the  abolition  of  the 
vicious  liherum  veto  and  the  elective  kingship. 
It  meant  that  Poland  was  not  to  be  allowed  to 
reform  her  government,  which  alone  could  re- 
store her  strength  and  secure  her  independence. 
It  was  thus  the  first  step  toward  her  destruc- 
tion as  an  independent  state. 

The  question  of  political  equality  for  the 
Dissidents  was  a  matter  of  a  very  different  sort, 
but  quite  as  significant.  The  Dissidents  were 
dissenters  or  non-conformists  —  people  who 
would  not  accept  the  state  religion,  which  in 
Poland  was,  as  has  already  been  said,  Roman 
Catholic.  The  majority  of  the  Dissidents,  and 
the  only  ones  in  whom  Catharine  was  inter- 
ested, were  Greek-Orthodox,  or  members  of 
the  Russian  Church.   In  taking  up  their  cause 


190    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Catharine  hoped  to  do  two  things :  first,  to  make 
herself  popular  in  Russia  and  make  the  Rus- 
sians forget  that  she  was  a  foreigner  and  a 
usurper  by  making  herself  the  champion  of  the 
cause  dearest  to  all  Russian  hearts,  the  cause  of 
the  Orthodox  religion;  and  second,  she  hoped 
to  build  up  in  Poland  out  of  these  enfranchiseQ 
Dissidents  a  Russian  party  devoted  to  her 
interests.  Nothing  could  have  shown,  more 
plainly  than  these  arrangements,  that  Catha- 
rine's plan  was  to  make  Poland  hers  in  fact  if 
not  in  name,  and  to  govern  the  country  in  the 
interests  of  Russia.  The  choice  of  the  king  also 
was  made  with  this  end  especially  in  view. 
Stanislaus  Augustus  Poniatowski  was  a  young 
Polish  noble,  connected  through  his  mother 
with  the  great  Czartoryski  family.  His  father 
was  Count  Stanislaus  Poniatowski,  Castellan 
of  Cracow,  friend  and  companion  in  arms  of  the 
Swedish  hero,  Charles  XII . 

An  excellent  education  on  cosmopolitan  lines, 
by  tutors  at  home  and  study  abroad,  especially 
in  France,  had  developed  the  natural  parts  of 
the  young  prince,  and  had  made  him  a  keenly 
intelligent,  highly  cultivated,  and  charming 
gentleman.  Unfortunately,  neither  nature  nor 
education  had  given  him  the  decision  of  char- 
acter, tenacity  of  purpose,  and  high  courage 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     191 

that  his  country  sorely  needed  in  her  king.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-two  he  was  made,  through 
his  father's  influence,  Stolnik,  or  High  Steward 
of  Lithuania,  and  the  next  year  he  was  sent  to 
Russia  as  secretary  to  the  English  Ambassador, 
Sir  Charles  Hanbury  Williams,  to  gain  diplo- 
matic experience,  and  especially  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Court  of  St.  Petersburg,  which 
would  enable  him  to  be  of  help  in  carrying  out 
the  plans  of  his  maternal  uncles.  Prince  Augus- 
tus and  Prince  Michael  Czartoryski,  the  well- 
known  Prince  Palatine  and  Prince  Chancellor. 
Arrived  at  St.  Petersburg,  he  almost  at  once 
won  the  affections  and  became  the  lover  of  the 
Grand  Duchess  Catharine,  wife  of  the  heir  to 
the  throne,  and  later  the  Empress  Catharine 
II.  The  relationship  lasted  for  three  years,  and 
was  ended,  if  we  may  believe  Catharine's  own 
account,  by  him  and  not  by  her,  and  caused 
her  great,  if  not  very  lasting,  sorrow.  It  was 
due  to  her  influence  that  at  the  end  of  1756  he 
was  made  Polish  Ambassador  at  the  Court  of  St. 
Petersburg,  and  during  the  two  following  years 
he  was  one  of  the  chief  conspirators  in  the  in- 
trigues which  aimed  at  placing  the  Grand 
Duchess  instead  of  her  husband  on  the  throne 
at  the  death  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth.  The 
conspirators  went  a  little  too  far  and  showed 


192     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

their  plans  too  openly  in  1758,  when  the  Em- 
press was  ill  —  it  was  thought  fatally.  When 
she  recovered,  Poniatowski  was  told  to  leave 
Russia  in  thirty-six  hours,  and  the  Grand 
Duchess  was  in  disgrace  and  strictly  excluded 
from  any  further  opportunity  to  play  the  game 
of  politics. 

But  the  wheel  of  fortune  turned  quickly  for 
her.  In  four  short  years  she  was  on  the  Rus- 
sian throne,  and  in  a  position  to  play  a  part  big 
enough  to  satisfy  even  her  vaulting  ambition. 
During  these  years  her  infatuation  for  Prince 
Stanislaus  had  gone,  but  an  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  his  character  and  capacities  remained. 
Catharine  believed  she  had  in  him  a  tool  with 
which  she  could  govern  Poland  in  her  own 
interests. 

Meanwhile  the  Polish  Reform  Party,  wholly 
ignorant  of  the  Russo- Prussian  treaty,  whose 
terms  were  secret,  were  preparing  to  use  the 
opportunity  presented  by  the  election  of  a  new 
king,  to  introduce  a  new  constitution.  Their 
plan  was  briefly  to  strengthen  the  powers  of 
the  king  at  the  expense  of  the  Diet,  to  make  the 
kingship  hereditary,  and  to  abolish  the  thor- 
oughly vicious  and  anarchic  liherum  veto.  The 
two  brothers.  Prince  Michael  and  Prince  Au- 
gustus Czartoryski,  were,  as  has  been  said,  the 


THE   ERA  OF   PARTITION     193 

leaders  of  this  party,  and  had  worked  for 
twenty  years  preparing  for  this  opportunity, 
organizing  their  little  group  into  a  party  of 
reform,  educating  public  opinion  to  support 
reforms,  and  training  a  new  order  of  states- 
men capable  of  managing  a  new  government 
when  they  should  get  it. 

Upon  the  death  of  Augustus  III  this  party  at 
once  submitted  its  Constitution  to  the  Diet, 
but  before  any  action  could  be  taken  the  Diet 
was  "exploded."  Other  attempts  met  with  a 
similar  fate.  The  reformers  then  succeeded  in 
forming  a  "Confederation,"  but  their  oppo- 
nents held  "Counter-Confederations'*  which 
nullified  all  their  actions,  and  they  realized  that 
it  would  be  impossible  either  to  reform  the 
Constitution  or  elect  a  king  without  the  aid  of  a 
foreign  Power.  Thereupon  the  Prince  Chancel- 
lor in  February,  1764,  played  right  into  Cath- 
arine's hand  by  begging  her  support  in  the 
approaching  election  in  the  interests  of  order 
and  good  government.  This  gave  Catharine 
the  very  opportunity  she  wanted  to  send  a 
Russian  army  into  Poland,  and  made  her  mis- 
tress of  the  situation. 

Although  the  Reform  Party  had  chosen 
Prince  Adam  Czartoryski,  son  of  the  Prince 
Palatine,  as  their  candidate  for  the  kingship, 


194    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

they  very  readily  transferred  their  support  to 
Prince  Stanislaus  Poniatowski  when  they  found 
that  the  Empress  would  support  no  one  else. 
Their  influence,  combined  with  that  of  the 
Russian  Ambassador,  who  had  used  Russian 
troops  to  imprison  or  to  drive  out  of  the  coun- 
try all  who  refused  to  be  influenced  in  favor  of 
Stanislaus,  resulted  in  his  unanimous  election. 
Stanislaus  on  his  part  had  solemnly  promised 
his  uncles  to  use  his  kingly  influence  to  ad- 
vance their  cause,  which  was  indeed  the  cause 
of  all  patriotic  Poles. 

But  as  the  price  of  her  support  the  Empress 
had  imposed  upon  him  conditions  which  made 
the  keeping  of  that  promise  an  utter  impossi- 
bility. He  promised  "always  to  regard  the 
interests  of  Russia  as  his  own,"  to  maintain  a 
constant,  unfeigned  "devotion"  to  the  Em- 
press, and  never  to  refuse  to  support  her  "just 
intentions."  ^ 

In  addition  to  this  he  was  throughout  his 
reign  under  constant  financial  obligations  to 
the  Empress.  Her  ambassadors  paid  his  debts 
and  advanced  him  the  money  by  which  alone 
he  was  able  to  avoid  the  open  bankruptcy  to 
which  his  extravagance  had  reduced  him. 

Nor  was  this  all.  Throughout  the  length 
*  Lord,  The  Second  Partition  of  Poland,  p.  48. 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     195 

and  breadth  of  his  kingdom  he  was  cordially 
hated  and  despised  by  the  vast  majority  of  his 
subjects.  By  the  conservatives  he  was  hated 
as  a  reformer,  by  the  many  opponents  of  the 
Czartoryski  as  a  member  of  their  family,  and  by 
the  people  at  large  as  the  tool  of  Russia. 

Altogether  his  position  and  that  of  Poland 
under  him  seemed  well-nigh  hopeless  from  the 
start.  But  on  the  other  hand,  the  whole  situa- 
tion was  so  complicated,  so  many  interests  were 
concerned  with  the  solution  of  the  Polish  ques- 
tion, and  the  Poles  themselves  displayed  so  fine 
and  patriotic  a  spirit  and  really  accomplished 
so  much  in  the  dark  days  that  followed  the  first 
partition,  that  one  cannot  but  wonder  if  events 
might  not  have  taken  a  different  path  had  the 
King  assumed  from  the  first  a  strong  position 
about  constitutional  reform.  There  is  reason 
to  suppose  that  the  Empress  had  not  made 
any  hard-and-fast  decision  as  to  the  best  way 
to  treat  Poland.  Her  Chief  Minister,  Count 
Panin,  believed  that  a  reasonably  strong  and 
well-governed  Poland  would  be  more  useful  to 
Russia  than  a  weak  and  anarchical  one.  So 
did  Prince  Repnin,  Catharine's  Ambassador  at 
Warsaw,  and  both  men  had  much  influence 
with  her.  Frederick  the  Great  was  a  strong 
influence  on  the  other  side.   He  reminded  her 


196     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

of  the  Treaty  of  1764,  and  warned  her  of  the 
dangers  of  a  Poland  strong  enough  to  oppose 
her  control.  But  after  all,  Frederick  regarded 
Poland  as  primarily  Russia's  affair,  and  if  the 
King  of  Poland  had  stood  strongly  by  his  party 
and  his  principles,  urged  reform  uncompro- 
misingly, and  let  all  Europe  know  what  he  was 
doing,  the  Empress  might  have  yielded.  She 
would  certainly  have  found  it  somewhat  diffi- 
cult to  refuse.  That,  however,  was  just  what 
King  Stanislaus  did  not  do.  Uncompromising 
devotion  to  principle  was  something  of  which 
he  was  constitutionally  inca:pable.  Prince 
Repnin  had  only  to  threaten  him  with  the 
withdrawal  of  the  Empress's  favor  (and  battal- 
ions!) to  make  him  give  way  on  any  and  all 
points  at  issue.  The  King  began  his  reign  with 
an  appeal  to  the  Empress  to  assist  in  the  abo- 
lition of  the  liber um  veto.  When  she  refused, 
the  Reform  Party  tried  to  put  their  measure 
through  the  Diet  in  spite  of  Russian  opposition. 
When  the  Russian  and  Prussian  Ambassadors 
protested,  the  Prince  Chancellor  defied  them, 
and  said  he  would  rather  see  Poland  conquered 
by  force  of  arms  than  subject  to  such  dictation.^ 
But  the  King  gave  way  before  their  threats, 
withdrew  his  support  from  the  bill,  thus  desert- 
*  Bain,  Last  King  of  Poland,  p.  79. 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     197 

ing  his  uncles  and  their  cause,  and  allowed  the 
measure  to  fail.  And  although  the  King  burst 
into  tears  when  the  Ambassador  thanked  him 
for  his  services  to  Russia. in  this  matter,  his 
tears  did  not  prevent  his  taking  an  exactly 
similar  position  the  following  year  (1767), 
when,  at  the  instigation  of  Russian  and  Prus- 
sian gold,  the  worst  elements  in  Poland  formed 
the  Confederation  at  Radom,  and  requested  the 
Empress  to  guarantee  the  perpetuity  of  the 
existing  Polish  Constitution  —  which  meant 
that  no  Diet  could  ever  change  it  without  her 
consent.  Though  the  King  protested  feebly  at 
first,  he  finally  yielded  unconditionally.  So  well 
did  the  Russians  appreciate  the  value  of  his 
subservience  that  in  the  important  matter  of 
the  Dissidents  Prince  Repnin  himself  suggested 
that  the  King  ought  to  be  rewarded  for  his 
services  to  Russia. 

This  matter  of  the  Dissidents  was  one  that 
stirred  Poland  to  the  depths.  Few  matters  of 
public  concern  could  rouse  the  interest  of  the 
Polish  peasant  and  the  lesser  nobles,  but  an 
attack  on  their  religion  was  one  of  these  few, 
and  in  the  proposition  to  put  the  Orthodox  on 
terms  of  equality  with  Roman  Catholics  they 
saw  a  blow  at  the  very  vitals  of  their  religious 
life.   Every  one  in  Poland,  whatever  his  class 


198     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

or  party,  saw  that  the  proposition  was  an  im- 
possible one,  and  not  only  King  Stanislaus  and 
other  Poles  of  position,  but  even  her  own  am- 
bassador advised  Catharine  to  let  the  matter 
drop.  Perhaps  the  worst  feature  of  the  situa- 
tion was  that  the  Dissidents  themselves,  in 
whose  behalf  this  so-called  reform  was  being 
demanded,  did  not  want  equality,  and  peti- 
tioned the  Empress  to  let  them  alone!  They 
had  had  since  1686  entire  freedom  of  religion, 
and  the  only  point  of  inequality  with  Roman 
Catholic  Poles  was  their  ineligibility  to  hold 
office.  And  they  did  not  want  to  hold  office. 
Almost  without  exception,  as  Prince  Repnin 
reported  to  Catharine,  they  were  simple  peas- 
ants, quite  ignorant  of  public  affairs,  and 
wholly  unfitted,  as  well  as  unwilling,  to  take 
part  in  public  life.  Catharine's  plan  of  making 
a  party  of  them  to  represent  her  interests  at 
Court  was  quite  impossible.  It  would  have 
been  ridiculous,  indeed,  if  it  had  not  been  so 
serious  a  blunder. 

In  the  face  of  full  knowledge  of  the  situation, 
however,  Catharine  persisted  in  her  plan,  and 
by  means  of  bribery  and  intimidation,  the  im- 
prisonment of  leaders,  and  the  enlistment  in  her 
interests  of  all  the  factors  in  Poland  opposed  to 
the  Czartoryski  and  the  party  of  reform,  sue- 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     199 

ceeded  in  pushing  her  bill  enfranchising  Dis- 
senters through  a  subservient  Diet,  and,  worst 
of  all,  getting  the  King*s  sanction  for  it.  This 
task  accomplished,  the  Empress  thought  her 
troubles  with  Poland  were  over.  In  reality  they 
were  just  begun. 

As  news  of  the  action  of  the  Diet  spread 
through  the  country,  a  great  wave  of  oppo- 
sition to  this  betrayal  of  their  religion  by  their 
King  rolled  up,  and  broke  in  the  distant  Ukran- 
ian  province  of  Bar,  where  the  so-called  **  Con- 
federation of  Bar"  was  formed,  and  a  great 
religious  insurrection  was  preached.  Many 
thousands  of  peasants  and  lesser  nobles  en- 
listed under  the  banner  of  the  insurrection, 
which  bore  upon  it  the  image  of  the  Virgin,  the 
Crucifix,  and  the  motto,  "To  conquer  or  die 
for  religion  and  liberty."  All  Poland  was  soon 
in  civil  war,  and  envoys  were  sent  to  Turkey 
and  France,  asking  their  aid  against  Russia  and 
Prussia.  Both  governments  were  rather  favor- 
able to  the  enterprise.  Turkey  was  never  loath 
to  attack  Russia,  and  needed  little  urging 
from  France  to  make  her  declare  war,  which 
she  did  in  October,  1768.  France  also  appealed 
to  Austria,  closely  bound  to  her,  by  the  Treaty 
of  1756,  to  aid  Poland. 

Catharine  was  taken  by  surprise,  and  had 


200    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

the  Turks  acted  promptly  and  cooperated 
wisely  with  the  Poles  the  situation  might  have 
been  a  difficult  one  for  her.  But  the  Turks 
were  not  ready,  and  that  gave  her  time  to 
attack  the  Poles  separately.  The  Confederates 
themselves  were  no  mean  fighters,  though  they 
had  no  organization  and  little  discipline.  They 
never  succeeded  in  getting  a  real  army  into  the 
field,  but  for  four  long  years  they  kept  the 
Russians  busy,  and  devastated  the  country  by 
a  savage  guerrilla  warfare.  "While  the  Poles 
massacred  in  the  name  of  the  Catholic  religion, 
the  Russians  massacred  in  the  name  of  toler- 
ance." 

Meanwhile  also  Catharine  had  called  upon 
Frederick  the  Great  to  carry  out  the  Treaty  of 
1764  by  coming  to  her  aid.  Frederick,  how- 
ever, on  his  part,  had  no  desire  or  intention  of 
going  to  war.  He  knew  that  Austria  also  was 
very  desirous  of  maintaining  peace,  and  he 
hoped  by  an  understanding  with  her  to  prevent 
the  Russo-Turkish  War  altogether  and  limit  the 
conflict  to  Poland.  By  the  beginning  of  1769  he 
saw  that  this  could  not  be  done.  His  task  then 
became  that  of  limiting  the  war  to  Russia  and 
Turkey,  and  thus  preventing  a  European  con- 
flagration, but  Frederick's  plan  did  not  end 
there.    He  had  long  coveted  Polish  Prussia, 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     201 

which  formed  a  great  wedge  of  territory  efifec- 
tively  separating  his  province  of  East  Prussia 
from  his  central  German  territories.  He 
thought  he  saw  in  the  existing  situation  an 
opportunity  to  acquire  that  territory. 

The  chief  danger  of  the  war  becoming  general 
lay  in  Russian  interference  with  Austrian  in- 
terests in  southeastern  Europe.  Austria  re- 
garded the  region  of  the  Danube  as  her  pre- 
serve, and  Frederick  knew  that  she  would  never 
consent  to  Russia's  annexation  of  the  Danubian 
principalities,  Wallachia  and  Moldavia  (the 
modern  Kingdom  of  Roumania),  which  Russia 
would  inevitably  claim,  among  other  terri- 
tories, as  reward  for  the  brilliant  victories  she 
was  winning  against  the  Turks.  In  such  a  situa- 
tion Austria  would  almost  inevitably  be  drawn 
into  the  war,  and,  on  account  of  the  system  of 
international  alliances,  the  entrance  of  Austria 
would  mean  that  the  war  became  European. 
As  Austria  could  do  little  in  a  war  against  both 
Turkey  and  Russia  without  his  help,  and  he 
was  resolved  not  to  fight,  he  suggested  that 
Austria  offer  her  services  as  mediator  between 
the  warring  countries,  and  propose  that  Russia 
indemnify  herself  by  the  annexation  of  Polish 
rather  than  Turkish  territory;  and  to  offset  that 
increase  of  territory  on  the  part  of  Russia,  that 


202  --BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Austria  and  Prussia  each  be  allowed  a  slice  of 
the  same  hejpless  country. 

Although  this  was  not  her  first  and  preferred 
plan,  Catharine  was  not  averse  to  it,  as  she 
could  use  the  opportunity  to  take  possession  of 
certain  Polish  territories  which  would  give  her 
a  defensible  frontier  on  the  west,  which  she 
had  long  desired  and  had  probably  intended  to 
take  when  the  chance  offered,  as  it  did  now.  It 
was  from  the  Austrian  Empress  Maria  Theresa 
that  the  chief  opposition  to  the  plan  came,  but 
she  finally  yielded,  and  it  was  agreed  that  each 
participant  should  have  territory  of  the  same 
value  as  the  others,  and  it  was  tacitly  under- 
stood that  each  should  have  the  particular  terri- 
tories he  most  desired. 

By  the  treaty  signed  July  25,  1772,  Russia 
secured  White  Russia  (Polotsk,  Vitebsk,  and 
Mohilev)  and  Polish  Livonia,  which  gave  her 
the  rivers  Dwina,  Dnieper,  and  Drusch  as  her 
frontier.  Austria  had  Red  Russia  and  Galicia, 
with  a  little  piece  of  Podolia,  while  Prussia's 
share  included  Ermeland,  West  or  Polish  Prus- 
sia exclusive  of  Danzig,  the  Netze  district, 
Kulmerland  exclusive  of  Thorn,  and  part  of 
Cujavia. 

The  next  step  was  to  make  King  Stanislaus 
convoke  the  Diet  and  force  that  body  to  go 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION    203 

through  the  form  of  ratifying  the  partition 
treaty.  As  a  preliminary,  all  three  powers  took 
the  precaution  to  occupy  the  territories  they 
claimed  with  their  respective  troops,  and  to 
issue  proclamations  of  annexation  to  the  in- 
habitants. The  elections  to  the  Diet  also  were 
so  carefully  guided  by  the  bribes  and  threats  of 
the  occupying  Powers  that  the  Diet  (which  the 
King,  though  loudly  protesting,  had  yet  been 
obliged  to  convoke)  was  largely  composed  of 
their  creatures.  Under  such  circumstances 
immediate  ratification  seemed  a  foregone  con- 
clusion, but  it  was  not  until  September,  1773, 
after  nearly  fourteen  months  of  delay,  that  the 
Diet  could  be  induced  to  take  the  final  step  by 
which  Poland  signed  away  nearly  a  third  of  her 
territory  and  something  more  than  a  third  of 
her  population. 

2.  The  National  Revival  and  the 
Second   Partition 

The  years  following  the  first  partition  were 
years  of  momentous  import  in  Polish  history. 
In  spite  of  the  losses  and  humiliations  of  the 
partition,  they  were  years  of  reviving  prosper- 
ity and  hope. 

Russia,  it  is  true,  governed  the  country  ab- 
solutely, and  in  her  own  interests,  through  the 


204    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Russian  Ambassador,  who  was  the  adviser, 
mentor,  and  close  friend  of  King  Stanislaus. 
But  the  Empress  had  come  to  realize  that  her 
interests  would  be  better  served  by  good  gov- 
ernment than  by  anarchy  in  Poland.  So,  after 
the  first  partition  had  been  ratified,  Russia  put 
through  the  Diet  of  1773  the  so-called  ''Qw^i- 
tution  of  177^^."  Under  this  Constitution  the 
**  Permanent  Committee,"  or  Executive  Coun- 
cil, governed  the  country.  It  consisted  of 
thirty-six  members,  eighteen  Senators  and 
eighteen  Deputies  elected  by  the  Diet  every 
two  years,  and  was  divided  into  five  depart- 
ments —  War,  Finance,  Foreign  Affairs,  Jus- 
tice, and  Police.  It  was  hated,  indeed,  as  a 
Russian  institution,  but  it  gave  to  Poland  a 
unity,  order,  and  economy  of  administration 
unknown  to  her  before. 

Also,  as  long  as  Poland  remained  politically 
quiet  and  subservient,  Russia  made  no  objec- 
tion to  activities  along  other  lines,  and  there 
were  started  during  these  years  economic  and 
social  rearms  of  lasting  value —  reforms  which 
in  fifty  years  would  have  transformed  Poland 
from  a  mediaeval  to  a  modem  state,  and  which, 
even  in  the  brief  dozen  years  allowed  to  them, 
gave  the  country  a  good  start  on  the  upward 
path. 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     205 

Poland  in  1773  was  amost  entirely  an  agri- 
cultural country.  She  was  one  of  the  granaries 
of  Europe,  exporting  yearly  vast  amounts  of 
grain  through  her  great  Baltic  port,  Danzig. 
Her  rich  lands  were  almost  wholly  in  the  hands 
of  the  nobility,  who  paid  no  taxes  and  worked 
their  vast  tracts  by  practically  unpaid  serf 
labor.  Under  such  conditions  the  profits  were 
enormous,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  almost  no 
improvements  in  methods  of  farming  had  been 
introduced  for  two  centuries.  The  first  parti- 
tion, however,  made  a  great  change  in  these 
conditions.  Many  landowners  found  their 
lands  greatly  reduced,  and  more  important  still, 
the  King  of  Prussia  was  now  in  control  of  the 
trade  of  the  Vistula,  and  imposed  ruinous 
duties  or  tolls,  thus  reducing  greatly  the  profits 
from  the  trade  still  left  to  them. 

The  Government  of  Poland  also  by  the  first 
partition  lost  about  one  half  its  revenue,  from 
the  Crown  lands  occupied  by  the  partition- 
ing Powers,  from  duties  on  merchandise  sent 
to  Danzig,  which  now  enriched  Prussia,  and 
especially  from  the  salt  mines  taken  over  by 
Austria,  which  had  been  the  chief  source  of 
revenue  for  the  Crown. 

These  losses  meant  that  theGovenmient  was 
obliged  to  find  new  sources  of  revenue.  Among 


206    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

them  a  general  land  tax,  imposed  for  the  first 
time  in  1774,  still  further  diminished  the  profits 
of  the  nobles.  As  a  matter  of  sheer  necessity, 
therefore,  even  the  conservative  element  among 
the  nobility  seconded  the  efforts  of  the  reform- 
ers to  develop  new  industries  in  Poland,  and  by 
the  application  of  modern  scientific  methods  to 
increase  the  productiveness  of  the  old. 

As  a  result,  manufactures  sprang  uo  all  over 
the  country  —  there  were  few  magnate  families 
who  did  not  start  at  least  one;  the  roads  were 
improved  so  that  communication  was  not  only 
possible,  but  travel  was  stimulated ;  rivers  were 
dredged  and  widened,  and  a  system  of  canals 
planned  and  partly  built,  by  which  the  many 
rivers  of  Poland  were  connected  with  the  Black 
Sea,  thus  opening  new  markets.  All  this^meant 
new  life  forthe  towns,  whose  existence  had 
been  stagnant  for  two  centuries.  Warsaw,  for 
example,  increased  in  size  from  30,000  to 
160,000  inhabitants.  Trade  increased  in  spite 
of  Prussia's  exactions;  Polish  manufactured 
goods  appeared  in  foreign  markets  for  the  first 
time  in  her  history;  and  a  middle  class,  pros- 
perous, educated,  and  enterprising,  came  into 
existence,  and  supplied  an  element  in  the 
national  life  which  Poland  had  long  needed. 

As  a  result  of  the  reviving  prosperity  of  the 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     207 

country  and  the  fiscal  reforms  of  the  Permanent 
Council,  the  government  revenues  were  twice 
as  great  in  1788  as  in  the  early  years  of  the 
reign  of  King  Stanislaus.  The  army  also, 
which  by  1788  had  been  increased  from  almost 
nothing  to  eighteen  thousand  men,  was  trained 
according  to  the  Prussian  model,  officered  from 
the  new  cadet  school,  and  regularly  paid. 

At  the  same  time  the  Education  Commission, 
established  in  1774,  had  begun  an  entire  re- 
organization^of  education  —  a  reform  most 
urgently  needed,  and  which  yielded  large  re- 
sults in  a  comparatively  short  time. 

Until  1773,  when  they  were  expelled  from 
Poland,  the  Jesuits  had  had  entire  control  of 
the  education  of  the  country,  and  their  meth- 
ods were  those  of  the  sixteenth  century  and 
earlier.  The  confiscation  of  the  property  of 
the  Order  gave  the  Commission  something  to 
work  with,  and  they  introduced  an  entirely  new 
system,  from  the  elementary  school  to  the  uni- 
versity, based  on  the  same  principles  as  the 
system  which  the  Revolution  was  introducing 
into  France.  A  very  real  intellectual  revival 
both  dictated  and  followed  these  measures. 
Once  more,  after  two  centuries  of  isolation, 
Poland  came  into  contact  with  current  Eu- 
ropean  ideas.    The  ** enlightenment"  of  the 


208    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

eighteenth  century  and  the  culture  of  revolu- 
tionary France,  adopted  with  enthusiasm  in 
Poland,  broke  up  the  old  provincialism  of 
thought  and  the  old  ignorance  of  the  modern 
world  which  had  proved  so  fatal  to  her  growth. 
The  way  the  country  rose  to  these  opportuni- 
ties and  turned  all  its  energies  into  reform 
shows  that  at  bottom  the  nation  was  sound  and 
capable  of  regeneration. 

In  all  these  enterprises  King  Stanislaus  and 
the  Patriot  Party  worked  hand  in  hand, 
though  their  ideas  as  to  the  political  future  of 
Poland  were  very  different. 

The  disastrous  experiences  which  ended  in 
partition  had  convincedthe  King  that  depend 
ence  on  Russia  was  the  necessary  cood  i  t  i  ocLQf 
^n  progress.  His  idea  was  by  good  behavior  to 
merit  rewards  from  his  protector,  and  by  serv- 
ices in  time  of  need  to  win  compensation  which 
should  take  the  form  of  enlarging  both  his  pre- 
rogatives and  the  Polish  army  to  the  extent  of 
making  him  really  independent  of  Russia. 

The  Patriots,  on  the  contrary,  had  learned 
quite  a  different  lesson  from  the  partition.  They 
saw  that  the  fatal  mistake  had  been  to  trust 
Russia,  and  they  realized  that  the  first  and  in- 
dispensable step  toward  any  real  freedom  was 
to  cast  off  Russian  influence  altogether. 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     209 

But  all  parties  agreed  that,  whatever  their 
plans  for  ultimate  action  might  be,  the  time 
was  not  ripe.  Poland  was  not  ready.  She  must 
first  be  made  so,  and  then  await  an  opportunity. 
The  whole  national  energy  was  turned,  there- 
fore, during  the  years  1775  to  1788,  into  na- 
tional'l^eneTatiorTT'l^  we  have  seen  above, 
much  was  accomplished.  But  was  it  enough? 
That  was  the  question  that  was  anxiously  and 
eagerly  asked  by  all  friends  of  freedom,  when 
in  1788  the  long-awaited  opportunity  seemed  to 
present  itself  in  the  absorption  of  both  Russia 
and  her  ally  Austria  in  a  war  on  the  Turks. 
The  general  sentiment  of  the  country  believed 
that  Poland's  hour  had  struck,  and  was  in 
favor  of  making  the  supreme  effort.  "Our  sons 
and  grandsons,"  the  Dietine  of  Samogitia  de- 
clared, ''will  not  live  to  see  a  better  occasion 
than  we  now  have  for  setting  our  house  in 
order,  increasing  the  forces  of  the  Republic, 
assuring  our  liberties  .  .  .  and  reviving  the  once 
famous  name  of  Poles."  ^ 

While  the  country  talked,  the  leaders  of  both 
parties  were  busy  maturing  their  respective 
plans.  Even  before  hostilities  began.  King 
Stanislaus  had  approached  the  Empress  with 
the  project  of  an  alliance  against  the  Turks.  In 
1  Lord,  The  Second  Partition  of  Poland,  p.  92. 


210    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

return  for  the  use  of  Poland's  army,  which  King 
Stanislaus  would  command  himself,  Catharine 
<vas  to  permit  an  increase  in  the  size  of  the 
Polish  army,  a  considerable  extension  of  the 
prerogatives  of  the  King,  an  immediate  subsidy 
for  war  expenses,  and,  after  the  war  was  over, 
the  cession  to  Poland  of  Bessarabia  and  part 
of  Moldavia,  including  the  port  of  Akkerman. 
All  these  territories  he  expected  their  com- 
bined efforts  would  conquer  from  Turkey. 

Catharine  was  very  favorably  inclined  to- 
ward a  closer  alliance  with  Poland  at  this  time, 
chiefly  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  a  Prusso- 
Polish  alliance,  but  she  attached  very  little 
value  to  the  services  which  the  Polish  army 
could  render,  and  had  no  idea  of  allowing  the 
King  to  use  the  occasion  to  strengthen  his 
position.  Accordingly,  while  accepting  an  alli- 
ance in  principle,  she  made  a  counter-propo- 
sition as  to  terms,  in  which  none  of  the  King's 
requests  were  granted,  and  from  which  Poland 
would  have  gained  no  advantage  whatever. 
Nevertheless  the  King  accepted  it,  —  perhaps 
he  himself  would  have  found  it  difficult  to  say 
why! —  and  convoked  a  Diet  to  ratify  it.  Just 
at  this  point,  however,  Prussia  received  infor- 
mation of  the  proposed  alliance,  and  at  once 
informed  Russia  that  Prussia  would  regard  its 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     211 

ratification  as  a  cause  for  war.  The  Polish 
alliance  was  not  worth  a  new  war  to  Russia,  so 
the  Empress  gave  up  the  plan,  but  as  she 
openly  said  that  she  might  take  it  up  again 
when  a  more  favorable  occasion  offered,  the 
Prussians  remained  suspicious  and  far  from 
reassured. 

The  leaders  of  the  Patriots,  meanwhile,  rec- 
ognizing the  necessity  of  outside  aid  if  they  were 
to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Russia,  had  made  over- 
tures to  Prussia,  and  were  anxiously  waiting  to 
see  what  she  would  do  for  them. 

This  was  the  situation  when,  on  October  6, 
1788,  the  famous  Four  Years'  Diet,  or  as  the 
Poles  call  it,  the  ''Great  Diet,*'  came  together 
amid  a  country-wide  excitement  and  enthusi- 
asm such  as  perhaps  Poland  had  never  known. 

The  members  of  the  Diet  were  divided  among 
three  parties:  the  Royalists,  or  King's  Party, 
Russian  in  its  sympathies  and  in  favor  of  a 
Russian  alliance;  the  Patriots,  or  party  of 
thoroughgoing  reform,  very  anti-Russian  and  in 
favor  of  the  Prussian  alliance;  and  the  Republi- 
can Party,  consisting  of  the  ultra-conserva- 
tlves  who  desired  to  retain  the  old  Constitution 
intact,  who  saw  "despotism"  in  any  orderly 
government,  and  extolled  the  sacred  "freedom" 
of  the  old  anarchy  and  the  liberum  veto. 


112    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

province  he  had  criminal  jurisdiction  over  all 
Little  Poland ;  as  Grand  Hetman  of  the  Crown 
he  was  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army,  while 
as  Chancellor  he  was  the  Keeper  of  the  Great 
Seal,  the  guardian  of  the  Constitution. 

There  is  no  question  of  the  value  of  his  serv- 
ices to  Poland,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  was 
extremely  jealous  of  his  dignity,  far  from  scru- 
pulous in  his  methods,  and  all  too  prone  to  regard 
opposition  to  his  policies  as  treachery  to  the 
State.  It  is  small  wonder  that  he  had  enemies 
besides  the  Zborowski,  and  of  quite  a  different 
sort,  and,  natural  enough,  that  all  of  them 
should  join  together  after  the  death  of  King 
Stephen  in  an  attempt  to  curtail  his  power. 
The  Primate  Karnkowski,  an  old  man  of  sev- 
enty, and  completely  under  the  influence  of 
the  Zborowski,  wrote  to  Zamoyski,  who  was  in 
the  Ukraine  with  the  army,  not  to  come  to  the 
Convocation  Diet,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the 
election  of  the  new  king  could  take  place  with- 
out him.  Zamoyski,  however,  had  quite  other 
intentions,  and  when  the  Election  Diet  met  in 
June,  1587,  he  was  not  only  there,  but  he  had 
the  whole  southern  army  with  him. 

There  were  three  important  candidates  for 
the  throne  on  this  occasion:  the  Czar  of  Mus- 
covy, the  Archduke  Maximilian,  brother  of  the 


THE  ERA  OF  DECLINE       113 

Emperor  Rudolph  II,  and  SigismundVasa,  son 
of  King  John  of  Sweden  and  of  Catharine  Jagi- 
ello,  sister  of  Sigismund  II.  Zamoyski  supported 
the  claims  of  the  Swedish  prince,  and  his  in- 
fluence was,  perhaps,  the  decisive  factor  in  the 
election.  The  Zborowski  and  their  faction  were 
in  favor  of  Maximilian,  while  the  majority  of 
the  Lithuanians  supported  the  Czar.  Factional 
feeling^  had  never  been  so  bitter,  and  all  the 
factions  came  with  armies  behind  them  ^  so  that 
the  field  of  election  was  a  great  armed  camp. 
This  had,  indeed,  been  true  of  the  elections  of 
both  Henry  of  Valois  and  of  Stephen  Batory, 
but  in  neither  case  were  the  numbers  or  the  ani- 
mosities so  great.  The  remark  of  a  foreign 
observer  about  the  election  of  Henry  of  Valois, 
that  it  looked  far  more  like  an  assemblage 
*'come  together  to  conquer  a  foreign  kingdom 
than  to  dispose  of  their  own,"  was  equally 
applicable  here. 
^  The  Primate  Kamkowski,  after  long  delay, 
finally  took  the  side  of  the  Swedish  prince, 
partly  because  he  was  the  popular  candidate 
(the  majority  of  the  Poles  supported  him  on 
account  of  his  Jagiellon  blood  and  because  his 
election  would  mean  a  close  alliance  of  Sweden 

*  The  Zborowski  had  ten  thousand  foreign  mercenaries  sent 
by  the  Archduke  as  well  as  the  private  armies  of  their  Polish 
supporters. 


214    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

ized  that  Poland  must  expect  to  pay  for  an 
alliance,  and  that  her  territory  was  about  all 
she  had  to  pay  with,  and  they  were  prepared  to 
accept  the  arrangement.  But  the  Diet  and  the 
country  would  not  consider  it  for  a  moment. 
All  their  old  distrust  of  Prussia  flared  up,  and 
for  a  time  it  seemed  as  though  there  would 
be  no  treaty.  The  King  of  Prussia,  however, 
wanted  the  alliance  of  Poland  at  this  time  for 
another  reason  (he  was  trying  to  form  a  league 
against  Austria),  so  the  commercial  treaty  and 
the  question  of  territory  were  waived  for  the 
time  being,  and  a  purely  political  alliance  was 
signed,  by  which  the  contracting  parties  guar- 
anteed each  other*s  territories,  and  the  King 
of  Prussia  promised  that  in  case  "any  foreign 
Power  .  .  .  should  seek  to  assert  the  right  to 
interfere  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Republic 
of  Poland,  the  King  of  Prussia  will  first  en- 
deavor by  his  good  offices  to  prevent  hostilities 
.  .  .  but  if  these  should  not  prove  effective  .  .  . 
His  Majesty  the  King  of  Prussia  will  then  assist 
that  Republic  according  to  Article  IV"  (i.e., 
render  military  assistance).^ 

The  question  whether  the  Prussian  alliance 
was  a  wise  move  for  Poland  is  one  on  which 
there  was  then  and  still  is  great  difference  of 

»  Lord,  p.  126. 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     215 

opinion.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
men  who  made  the  treaty  were  ignorant  of  the 
very  grave  dangers  for  Poland  that  lay  in  this 
course.  They  knew  that  Prussia  wanted  PoHsh 
territory,  that  self-interest  was  pretty  certain 
to  be  the  only  motive  in  a  Prussian  alliance,  and 
that  as  soon  as  that  interest  was  served  they 
could  hope  for  nothing  from  Prussian  friend- 
ship. But  on  the  other  hand,  was  an  alliance  on 
better  terms  at  all  likely  to  be  offered  to  Poland? 
Was  it  not,  after  all,  inevitable  that  a  coun- 
try in  Poland's  desperate  situation  must  take 
desperate  chances  in  order  to  save  herself? 
There  is  no  secure,  safe  course  for  a  state  too 
weak  to  protect  her  own  independence.  She 
must  get  what  she  can  out  of  the  chance  co- 
incidence of  her  interests  with  those  of  more 
powerful  states.  The  Prussian  alliance,  at  any 
rate,  offered  the  opportunity  to  Poland  to  free 
herself  from  Russia,  who,  the  Poles  believed, 
and  probably  rightly,  was  unalterably  opposed 
to  any  improvement  in  their  condition. 

The  European  situation  was,  moreover,  just 
at  this  time  peculiarly  favorable  to  their  inter- 
ests. All  the  Powers  were  alarmed  by  the 
spectacular  successes  of  Russia  in  her  war 
against  the  Turks,  and  by  the  danger  to  Europe 
involved  in   Russia's  annexation  of  the  vast 


2i6    BRIEF   HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

territories  conquered  by  her.  The  English 
Minister,  Pitt,  had  formed  the  Triple  Alliance 
of  England,  Holland,  and  Prussia  in  the  inter- 
ests of  European  peace,  and  he  now  planned  to 
expand  the  alliance,  by  the  admission  of  Sweden, 
Denmark,  and  Poland,  into  a  great  federation 
pledged  to  maintain  the  territorial  integrity  of 
its  members.  In  a  word,  the  Federative  System 
was  to  protect  weak  states  against  the  policy  of 
conquest  and  annexation  by  which  Catharine  II 
and  Frederick  the  Great  had  built  up  their 
empires.  It  was  really  directed  against  the  am- 
bitions of  Russia,  and  its  immediate  purpose 
was  to  force  Russia  to  relinquish  all  her  Turk- 
ish conquests. 

The  Prussian  alliance,  then,  was  to  be  for 
Poland  only  the  door  through  which  she  was  to 
enter  the  Triple  Alliance  and  Pitt's  great  Feder- 
ative System,  where  she  would  find  powerful 
allies  in  her  inevitable  struggle  against  Russia. 
But  Pitt's  plan  for  Poland  did  not  stop  here. 
Her  trade  with  Russia  was  very  important  to 
England,  and  before  breaking  with  Russia  it 
was  necessary  to  provide  other  sources  of  sup- 
ply for  the  grain,  timber,  and  other  important 
articles  that  England  got  there.  Pitt  saw  that 
Poland  could  supply  them,  and  his  idea  was  to 
strengthen  Poland's  independence  and  to  estab- 


I 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     217 

Iish  close  commercial  relations  between  her  and 
England.  Commercial  relations  with  England, 
however,  necessarily  included  Prussia,  because, 
in  the  first  place,  Prussia  was  England's  ally, 
and  in  the  second,  Prussia  controlled  Poland's 
outlet  on  the  Baltic.  Pitt  proposed  to  meet  this 
situation  by  a  commercial  treaty  between 
Prussia  and  Poland  under  the  guaranty  of 
England.  Prussia  was  to  free  Polish  trade  on>^ 
the  Vistula  from  all  the  restrictions  which 
Poland  had  so  deeply  resented,  giving  her 
practically  free  trade  with  Europe,  and  in  re- 
turn Poland  was  to  cede  Danzig  and  Thorn 
to  Prussia. 

But  as  in  the  earlier  negotiation,  the  cession 
of  Danzig  and  Thorn  was  just  what  the  Poles 
could  not  bring  themselves  to  accept.  The  Pa- 
triot leaders,  who  had  accepted  the  proposition 
as  a  necessary  sacrifice,  might  have  been  able 
to  bring  the  Diet  to  their  point  of  view  had 
the  Triple  Alliance  actually  gone  to  war  with 
Russia  and  offered  Poland  the  opportunity  to 
join.  But  the  war  did  not  come  off.  Though 
Catharine  stood  firm,  and  a  conflict  seemed  in- 
evitable, at  the  last  moment  Pitt  himself  was 
obliged  to  back  down  because  the  English 
Parliament  refused  to  support  a  war  with 
Russia.  Catharine  was  left  free  to  make  practi- 


2i8     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

cally  her  own  terms  with  the  Turks  (Treaty  of 
Jassy,  January,  1792),  and  Prussia,  completely 
disgusted  with  England,  resolved  to  get  out  of 
the  Triple  Alliance  as  soon  as  she  could.  She 
resolved  also  to  throw  over  her  treaty  with  the 
Poles,  and  to  open  negotiations  with  Russia  for 
a  new  partition  of  Poland,  as  the  only  means 
left  of  acquiring  Danzig  and  Thorn. 

As  for  Poland,  her  doom  was  sealed.  She  had 
staked  her  all  and  lost.  Her  refusal  to  pay  with 
her  provinces  for  the  Prussian  alliance,  and  the 
failure  of  the  Federative  System,  destroyed  her 
jiast  chance  of  outside  aid  in  her  inevitable 
'struggle  with  Russia.  She  had  now  to  fight  it 
out  alone  —  and  lose. 

But  for  the  moment  this  was  not  recognized 
at  Warsaw.  Prussia's  perfidy  was  not  yet 
known  to  the  Polish  Government,  nor  indeed  to 
any  one  but  Russia,  and  meanwhile  the  success 
of  the  Patriot  Party  in  making  a  new Honstitu- 
tion  for  Poland,  and  the  rallying  of  the  country 
to  its  support,  had  filled  the  whole  nation  with 
hope  and  faith  in  their  future. 

In  September,  1789,  a  committee  was 
appointed  by  the  Diet  to  draw  up  a  constitu- 
tion, but  it  was  not  until  1791  that  much  more 
than  the  adoption  of  a  statement  of  principles 
was  accomplished.  The  delay  was  due  not  only 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION    219 

to  the  preoccupation  of  the  Assembly  with 
other  matters,  —  finance,  the  army,  and  the 
Prussian  treaty  especially,  —  but  also  to  the 
fact  that  it  was  only  after  nearly  two  years  of 
debate  that  the  nation  was  sufficiently  educated 
in  political  ideas  and  possibilities  to  know  what 
it  really  wanted.  By  the  end  of  1790,  however,  ' 
the  country  had  pronounced  quite  definitely  in 
favor  of  the  hereditary  kingship  vested  in  the 
Elector  of  Saxony  and  his  line,  and  the  great 
majority  in  the  Diet  recognized  the  necessity  of 
a  strong  government,  able  to  hold  the  country 
together  and  protect  it  against  attacks  from 
without.  In  December  the  King,  who  up  to  this 
time  had  held  persistently  aloof,  finally  ac- 
cepted the  Prussian  treaty  and  the  Patriot 
programme.  And  now  the  Patriots  took  a 
desperate  resolve.  Convinced  that  their  well- 
being  depended  upon  having  a  constitution  in 
actual  operation  before  the  end  of  the  Russo- 
Turkish  War  freed  the  hands  of  Russia,  and 
realizing  that  it  could  never  be  done  by  the 
slow  method  of  Diet  procedure,  the  leaders 
resolved  to  present  a  constitution  ready  made, 
and  force  its  adoption  en  bloc  at  a  single  session 
of  the  Diet.  The  King  was  particularly  inter- 
ested in  this  plan.  He  himself  drew  up  the 
project  of  a  Constitution  modeled  on  English 


220     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

lines,  which,  being  approved  by  his  associates, 
he  resolved  to  present  to  the  Diet.  The  time 
chosen  was  immediately  after  the  Easter  re- 
cess, when  the  attendance  would  be  small,  and 
the  conspirators,  having  sent  secret  word  to 
their  own  supporters  to  be  present,  could  eas- 
ily command  a  majority. 

Accordingly,  the  3d  of  May,  the  Deputation 
on  Foreign  Interests  reported  alarming  rumors 
of  a  new  partition  of  Poland,  said  to  be  under 
consideration  by  Russia  and  Prussia.  The  King 
then  produced  the  new  Constitution  and  urged 
its  immediate  acceptance,  in  the  face  of  this  new 
danger.  After  some  very  heated  debate,  in 
which  the  majority  were,  however,  distinctly 
on  the  side  of  the  King,  he  took  the  oath  to 
support  the  new  Constitution,  the  majority  of 
the  Nuncios  or  Deputies  taking  part  in  it  by 
holding  up  their  right  hands.  Then,  calling 
upon  all  who  loved  their  country  to  follow 
him,  he  went  to  the  church,  where  they  all 
renewed  their  oaths  upon  the  altar. 

All  Warsaw  then  gave  itself  up  to  rejoicings 
**  unalloyed  by  a  single  act  or  word  that  might 
disgrace  the  auspicious  occasion,"  the  only 
accident  worthy  of  note  being  that  the  King 
lost  his  hat  —  but  even  this  was  regarded  by 
many  as  of  happy  omen! 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     221 

The  Constitution  thus  launched  was  a  good 
one.  The  abolition  of  the  old  liberum  veto  and 
of  the  right  of"  confederation  "  paved  the  way 
for  a  really  strong  government,  vested  in  an 
hereditary  king  with  large  powers,  governing 
through  a  Council  of  Ministers  responsible  to 
the  Diet,  which  could  remove  them  at  any 
time  by  a  two-thirds  vote.  The  legislature  was 
bicameral,  with  the  preponderance  of  power  in 
the  lower  House  elected  by  the  nation.  A 
property  qualification  for  voting  in  the  Diet- 
ines  was  established,  serfdom  was  abolished, 
and  political  rights  were  restored  to  the  towns 
and  cities  arbitranlyjfeprived  of  them  for  two 
hundred  years. 

Under  happier  circumstances  this  Constitu- 
tion might  have  saved  Poland  by  bringing  her 
people  under  the  discipline  they  needed  so 
sadly.  But  it  was  too  late.  Though  forced  for 
the  moment  to  acquiesce  in  Poland's  reasser- 
tion  of  her  independence  by  her  own  absorption 
in  the  Turkish  war,  Catharine  had  neither  for- 
gotten nor  forgiven  Poland  for  its  break  with 
Russia,  and  as  soon  as  her  hands  were  free  of 
the  Turks,  she  turned  to  the  task  of  its  re- 
conquest. 

Through  Potemkin  she  opened  negotiations 
with  certain  Poles  who  were  opposed  to  the 


:i22    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

new  Government  and  Constitution,  and  wanted 
nothing  more  than  the  chance  to  replace  it  with 
the  old  anarchy.  The  leaders  of  this  party  were 
Felix  Potocki.  Seweryn  Rzewuski,  and  Ksawery 
Branicki.  They  assured  the  Empress  that  the 
whole  country  was  with  them,  and  would  rise 
as  one  man  against  the  existing  regime  as  soon 
as  the  chance  was  offered.  (They  wanted,  how- 
ever, 100,000  Russian  troops  to  aid  them  in 
their  enterprise !)  They  fell  in  very  readily  with 
the  Empress's  plan  to  form  a  "Confederation" 
which  should  overthrow  the  Royal  Govern- 
ment, put  in  a  Constitution  approved  by  the' 
Empress,  and  conclude  with  Russia  a  treaty  of 
eternal  alliance. 

The  Empress  meanwhile  wrote  to  Prussia 
and  Austria  that  she  had  determined  to  destroy 
the  innovations  in  Poland,  so  detrimental  to 
the  common  interests  of  the  Powers,  and  sug- 
gested that  Prussia  and  Austria  join  in  this 
"regulation"  of  Polish  affairs.  The  King  of 
Prussia  saw  his  chance,  and  at  once  decided  to 
throw  over  the  Polish  treaty  and  make  a  new 
partition  of  Poland  which  should  give  him 
Danzig  and  Thorn  and  part  of  Great  Poland  as 
the  condition  of  his  alliance  with  Russia.  In 
March,  1792,  Potocki,  Rzewuski,  Branicki,  and 
a  dozen  of  their  creatures  came  to  Petersburg, 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     223 

where  they  were  entertained  and  feted  by  the 
Empress.  These  traitors  claimed  to  be  the\ 
representatives  of  the  whole  Polish  people, 
longing  to  return  to  a  republican  system  ofy 
government.  They  drew  up  an  Act  of  Con- 
federation which  purported  to  have  originated 
in  Poland  among  the  Poles,  and  was  falsely 
dated  "Targowica,  May  14,**  though  it  was 
really  signed  in  Petersburg  on  April  27. 

The  signers  of  this  document  declared  their 
purpose  to  be  the  defense  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  the  liberty  and  equality  of 
the  nobility,  the  territorial  integrity  of  the 
state,  and  the  ancient  republican  form  of 
government.  The  statement  that  the  control 
of  the  army  by  the  "usurpers"  at  Warsaw  had 
obliged  them  to  appeal  for  protection  to  the 
great  Catharine,  **  whose  grandeur  of  character 
gave  well-grounded  hope  of  her  disinterested- 
ness," was  followed  by  a  formal  request  for  aid 
addressed  in  the  name  of  the  **  Confederated 
Polish  Nation  **  to  Catharine  as  "  that  immortal 
sovereign  who  was  the  refuge  of  peoples  and 
kings,"  and  "the  tutelary  divinity"  of  Poland.* 

The  fiction  of  legal  right  being  thus  created, 
the  Empress  on  May  18,  1792,  gave  warning 
at  Warsaw  that  she  intended  to  take  action  in 
'  Lord,  p.  276. 


<f( 


224    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

behalf  of  violated  treaties,  and  on  the  same 
night  sent  her  troops  across  the  frontier. 

The  Poles  were  wholly  unprepared.  They 
had  refused  to  believe  that  there  was  danger, 
trusting  in  the  Prussian  treaty  and  the  very 
friendly  attitude  of  Austria,  who  really  wished 
to  befriend  them  and  had  tried  to  form  an  alli- 
ance against  Russia  in  their  behalf.  The  Poles 
believed  in  this  alliance  long  after  it  had 
proved  an  impossibility. 

On  May  21  the  Diet  met  to  hear  the  Russian 
note.  It  was  received  in  silence,  except  where 
the  Empress  said  she  was  sending  her  troops  to 
restore  the  liberties  of  the  Polish  nation,  when 
the  Assembly  burst  into  laughter  and  groans. 
The  King  made  a  manly  and  spirited  speech 
concerning  defense,  but  hoped  that  when  better 
informed  the  Empress  would  stay  her  hand ! 

The  Diet  voted  a  war- tax,  appointed  the 
King  Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the  forces  of 
the  Republic,  —  an  unparalleled  thing  in  Pol- 
ish history,  —  and  gave  him  power  to  make 
a  levee  en  masse  if  it  should  prove  necessary. 
Having  taken  these  measures,  all  it  could  do 
Ito  provide  for  Poland's  fatal  hour,  the  Four 
Years*  Diet  adjourned  May  29,  1792. 

The  King  then  made  a  formalLappeal  to  the 
King  of  Prussia  to  carry  gut  their  treaty.    It 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     225 

was  a  heavy  blow  when  Prussia  refused,  on  the 
quibble  that  the  Constitution  of  the  3ci  of  May 
was  subsequent  to  this  treaty,  and  not  guar- 
anteed by  it! 

Austria  was  sympathetic,  but  was  herself 
deeply  involved  in  a  war  with  Revolutionary 
France,  and  could  give  no  practical  aid.  Poland 
must  fight  alone  against  the  might  of  Russia, 
with  a  little  army  inadequately  equipped, 
badly  trained,  and  led  by  a  talented  but  en- 
tirely inexperienced  general  only  twenty-nine 
years  of  age,  Prince  Joseph  Poniatowski,  the 
nephew  of  King  Stanislaus.  In  General 
Thaddeus  Kosciuszko,  appointed  to  the  chief 
subordinate  command,  Poland  had,  however, 
an  officer  of  talent,  experience,  and  high 
patriotism. 

These  Polish  leaders  and  their  little  army 
put  up  a  splendid  fight  in  the  Ukraine  against 
overwhelmingly  greater  numbers.  And  they 
were  not  defeated.  In  fact,  after  two  months  in 
the  field  the  Polish  army  was  in  far  better  con- 
dition than  at  the  start,  and  was  eager  to  con- 
tinue the  struggle.  But_the  King  surrendered  to 
Russia  at  this  point,  and  all  was  lost.  For  a 
month  he  had  been  negotiating  secretly  with 
the  Empress,  trying  to  get  her  to  disavow  the 
Confederation  of  Targowica  and  to  accept  the 


226    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Constitution  of  the  3d  of  May  in  a  modified 
form,  coupled  with  an  "eternal  alliance"  be- 
tween Poland  and  Russia.  When  the  Empress 
absolutely  refused,  and  ordered  him  to  accept 
the  Confederation,  the  King,  though  he  pro- 
fessed himself  overwhelmed  with  grief,  called 
the  Council  and  laid  the  letter  before  them,  and 
professing  to  believe  that  the  military  defense 
of  the  country  was  hopeless,  advised  the  ac- 
ceptance of  the  Empress's  terms. 

Though  the  King  had  taken  pains  to  have 
present  in  the  Council  a  majority  of  pro- 
Russian  members,  yet  there  were  not  wanting 
a  few  patriots  to  protest  against  this  betrayal 
of  the  country.  Ostrowski  urged  the  King  to 
emulate  the  courage  and  constancy  of  John 
Casimir,  under  whom  Poland  had  faced  and 
conquered  worse  conditions  even  than  the 
present  ones,  while  Ignacy  Potocki  begged  the 
King  to  abdicate  rather  than  submit  to 
Russia.  The  King  listened,  but  was  uncon- 
vinced, and  finally  announced  his  decision  to 
accede  to  the  Confederation. 

Grief,  rage,  and  despair  followed  the  an- 
nouncement of  his  treachery  to  the  country. 
Kosciuszko,  indeed,  wished  to  abduct  the  King 
and  hold  him  prisoner  while  they  continued  the 
war  in  his  name,  but  Prince  Joseph  had  not  the 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION      22^ 

courage  for  this.  In  the  end  Prince  Joseph, 
Kosciuszko,  and  a  score  of  other  officers  re- 
signed their  commissions  and  left  the  country, 
as  did  many  of  the  Patriot  leaders  in  civil 
positions,  choosing  exile  rather  than  com- 
promise with  Russia. 

Meanwhile,  after  long  negotiations,  Prussia 
and  Russia  had  agreed  upon  the  terms  of  a 
second  partition  of  the  country,  and  in  lan- 
uary,  1793,  a  treaty  was  signed  by  which  Prus- 
sja  was  to  have  Danzig  andTEorn,  so  long  de- 
sired,  all  that  was  left  of  Great  Poland,  and 
parts  of  Cujavia  and  Masovia  —  briefly  the 
vast  region  known  to-day  as  South  Prussia. 
The  treaty  gave  Russia  those  parts  of  Podolia 
and  the  Ukraine  not  already  hers,  together  with 
parts  of  both  Volhynia  and  Podlesia.  By  the 
two  partitions  she  had  now  acquired  all  of 
Little  Russia,  aUof^  White  Russia,  and  part  of 
Lithuania. 

To  force  Poland  to  ratify  these  arrangements 
was  the  final  step,  and  one  of  the  Empress's 
first  official  acts  after  her  return  to  power  in 
Poland  was  to  convene  the  Polish  Diet  for  this 
purpose. 

The  Diet  met  at  Grodno,  June  17,1 793,  but  its 
coercion  proved  an  unexpectedly  difficult  task. 
The  Russian  representative,  Baron  von  Sievers, 


228     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

had  spent  large  sums  of  money  on  this  election, 
with  the  result  that  the  great  majority  of  the 
deputies  were  ready  to  vote  for  Russia.  There 
were,  however,  some  honest,  patriotic  men  in 
this  melancholy  assembly,  the  so-called  "Zeal- 
ots," who  opposed  themselves  uncompromis- 
ingly to  a  partition  or  even  to  a  discussion  of 
*' indemnity"  with  Russia  and  Prussia.  *'  If  we 
perish,"  they  said,  "let  us  perish  with  honor, 
not  with  shame" ;  and  they  fought  desperately, 
eloquently,  and  passionately  over  every  inch  of 
ground.  They  knew  they  could  not  save  them- 
selves, but  they  fought  for  time,  in  the  forlorn 
hope  that  some  foreign  power  or  some  fortu- 
nate accident  might  save  them.  The  King  at 
first  took  a  brave  position  on  their  side.  In  his 
opening  speech  he  said  he  had  acceded  to  the 
Confederation  of  Targowica,  because  in  so  do- 
ing he  thought  to  assure  the  integrity  and  in- 
dependence of  Poland,  and  declared  that  he 
had  "resolved  under  no  conditions  to  sign  any 
treaty  depriving  the  Republic  of  even  the 
smallest  part  of  its  possessions"!  There  is 
reason  to  believe,  however,  that  in  spite  of  all 
this  the  King  had  decided  beforehand  to  yield 
in  the  end.  Certain  it  is  that  as  soon  as  Russia 
withheld  the  payment  of  his  revenues  his 
opposition  broke  down   completely,   and    he 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     229 

became  the  facile  tool  of  Sievers.  The  Zealots 
continued  their  struggle  to  the  last  ditch. 
Finally,  however,  after  four  weeks  of  opposi- 
tion to  Russian  violence,  knowing  themselves 
without  the  means  of  defense,  and  wishing  to  | 
avoid  useless  bloodshed,  the  Diet  by  a  large/ 
majority  agreed  to  the  treaty  with  Russia^ 
The  treaty  with  Prussia,  whose  perfidy  had 
brought  them  to  this  pass,  they  absolutely 
refused  to  accept.  Even  after  the  Russian 
Ambassador  had  obliged  Prussia  to  give  up 
half  of  the  ''rectified"  frontier  that  the 
Prussians  had  occupied  over  and  above  the 
lands  included  in  their  arrangement  with 
Russia,  and  also  to  promise  a  commercial 
treaty  under  Russian  mediation  which  should 
reduce  the  exorbitant  tariffs  levied  by  Prussia 
on  Polish  trade  on  the  Vistula,  the  Poles  still 
would  not  yield.  Finally,  on  September  23,  the 
meeting-place  of  the  Diet  was  surrounded  with 
soldiers  and  cannon,  a  Russian  general  and 
twelve  officers  took  seats  in  the  Diet,  and  that 
body  was  informed  that  they  were  prisoners 
until  the  treaty  with  Prussia  was  passed. 

Having  tried  in  vain  every  other  means  of 
resistance,  the  Diet  lapsed  into  complete  si- 
lence. For  four  hours  the  famous  "Dumb  Ses- 
sion" continued,  the  silence  broken  only  by  the 


230    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

threats  and  blusterings  of  the  Russian  general. 
At  last,  near  four  in  the  morning,  at  the  insist- 
ence of  the  impatient  Russians  the  Marshal  of 
the  Diet  put  the  question.  It  was  twice  re- 
peated without  response,  whereupon  the  Mar- 
shal declared  that,  since  silence  was  a  sign  of 
consent,  and  no  one  had  spoken,  the  motion 
was  unanimously  carried !  The  session  was  then 
declared  closed,  and,  still  in  silence,  the  mem- 
bers left  the  hall. 

There  were  yet  other  humiliations  in  store  for 
the  defeated  Poles.  Although  Poland  was  now 
reduced  to  a  very  small  state,  —  only  about 
sixteen  thousand  square  miles  contained  in  the 
three  small  provinces  of  Masovia,  Podlachia, 
and  Samogitia,  —  the  Empress  wished  to  take 
no  chances  regarding  its  submissiveness,  and 
before  the  Diet  of  Grodno  was  dissolved  she 
forced  it  to  ratify  a  treaty  with  Russia,  putting 
practically  the  entire  control  of  the  army  and 
the  foreign  relations  of  the  country  in  the  hands 
of  Russia.  This  treaty,  as  one  of  the  deputies 
of  the  Diet  remarked,  made  Poland  a  Russian 
province. 

This  same  Diet  also  was  obliged  to  annul  all 
of  the  acts  of  the  Four  Years'  Diet,  and  to  re- 
enact  all  the  evil  features  of  the  old  constitu- 
tion —  the  liberum  veto^  the  elective  kingship, 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     231 

the  privileges  of  the  szlachta,  and  the  serfdom 
of  the  peasantry.  Truly  the  vengeance  of 
Catharine  was  complete! 

3.  The  Revolution  of  1794  and  the 
Third  Partition 

At  first  the  Poles  were  stunned  by  the  enor- 
mity of  this  latest  calamity  which  had  befallen 
them.  This  feeling,  however,  soon  gave  place 
to  an  indignation  and  hatred  for  Russia  which 
was  still  further  enhanced  by  the  increasing 
harshness  of  the  Russian  rule.  Baron  von  Sie- 
vers,  kindly  and  desirous  of  mitigating  Poland *s 
misfortunes  wherever  he  conscientiously  could, 
was  succeeded  by  General  Igelstrom,  an  insolent 
and  arbitrary  despot.  The  Poles  would  surely 
have  been  as  unworthy  of  independence  as  their 
worst  critics  make  them  out  had  they  submitted 
without  protest  to  this  last  ignominy.  But 
they  had  no  thought  of  submitting.  As  all  open 
means  of  protest  were  denied  them,  they  re- 
sorted to  conspiracy.  Secret  societies  were 
formed,  plots  for  an  insurrection  hatched  under 
the  very  nose  of  General  Igelstrom,  and  the 
plotters  at  home  were  in  constant  correspond- 
ence with  exiles  abroad,  particularly  a  group  in 
Saxony  which  included  Kosciuszko  and  the 
leaders  of  the  Four  Years*  Diet.  These  patriots 


232    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

did  their  best  to  find  support  for  a  Polish  in- 
surrection among  the  states  of  Europe,  but  in 
vain. 

Meanwhile  General  Igelstrom,  knowing  that 
there  were  plots,  but  unable  to  discover  them, 
resolved  to  disband  the  greater  part  of  the 
Polish  army,  upon  which  the  Poles  must  chiefly 
rely  in  any  insurrection.  Despair  at  this  move 
led  a  brigade  commanded  by  General  Mada- 
linski  to  refuse  when  ordered  to  disband.  In- 
stead, they  marched  toward  Cracow,  where  the 
citizens,  encouraged  by  this  news,  rose  en  masse 
and  expelled  the  Russian  garrison.  Kosciuszko, 
who  had  hurried  into  Poland  upon  receiving 
news  of  the  rising,  was  proclaimed  Commander- 
in-Chief  by  the  nobles  in  Cracow,  and  issued 
a  manifesto  calling  on  all  patriots  to  rally  to  his 
standard  and  to  send  him  arms  and  provisions. 
"Furnish  men  capable  of  bearing  arms,"  he 
says.  "Do  not  refuse  the  necessary  provisions 
of  bread,  biscuit,  etc.  Send  horses,  shirts,  boots, 
cloth,  and  canvas  for  tents.  .  .  .  The  last  mo- 
ment is  arrived,  in  which  despair,  in  the  midst 
of  shame  and  reproach,  puts  arms  in  our  hands. 
Our  hope  is  in  the  contempt  of  death  which  can 
alone  enable  us  to  ameliorate  our  fate  and  that 
of  our  posterity." 

The  conditions  implied  in  this  manifesto  were 


THE  ERA   OF   PARTITION    233 

far  from  hopeful  for  the  Polish  cause,  but  the 
country  responded  splendidly.  All  classes  ral- 
lied to  Kosciuszko's  standard,  even  the  peas- 
ants coming  in  great  numbers,  armed,  where 
they  had  nothing  else,  with  their  scythe-blades. 
The  King  set  the  example  of  giving  all  his  plate 
and  a  large  part  of  his  income  to  the  national 
cause,  and  the  nobles  followed  his  example  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  army  was  soon  abun- 
dantly supplied. 

At  Raslawice  Kosciuszko  met  and  defeated 
the  Russian  detachment  sent  after  Madalinski, 
and  Warsaw  responded  to  General  Igelstrom^s 
attempt  to  disarm  the  Polish  troops  there  by  a 
rising  which  obliged  Igelstrom  to  evacuate  the 
city  (April  18).  The  insurgents  then  set  up  a 
provisional  government  under  the  Constitution 
of  the  3d  of  May,  and  recognized  Kosciuszko  as 
Dictator.  Five  days  later  Wilna,  the  capital  of 
Lithuania,  expelled  its  Russian  garrison,  other 
lesser  towns  followed  its  example,  and  soon  the 
Russians  were  in  full  retreat  to  the  frontier. 
Poland  was  once  more  free !  She  even  began  to 
dream  of  recovering  her  dismembered  provinces 
under  Austrian  and  Prussian  rule. 

But  the  moment  of  triumph  was  as  brief  as  it 
was  happy.  The  King  of  Prussia  was  already 
on  his  way  to  Poland  with  an  army,  and  Catha- 


234     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

rine  of  Russia  was  collecting,  for  the  same  des- 
tination, every  soldier  that  could  be  spared 
from  the  south,  where  preparations  were  on 
foot  for  a  great  Turkish  war.  Catharine  was 
determined  this  time  to  be  done  with  Poland. 
*'The  time  has  come,*'  she  said,  "not  only  to 
extinguish  to  the  last  spark  the  fire  that  has 
been  kindled  in  our  neighborhood,  but  to  pre- 
vent any  possible  rekindling  of  the  ashes." 

Against  such  antagonists  Kosciuszko's  posi- 
tion was  hopeless  from  the  first,  but  he  made 
a  splendid  fight.  His  army  was  small,  badly 
equipped,  and  badly  disciplined.  That  unanim- 
ity in  the  cause  of  freedom  which  the  nation 
had  shown  in  the  first  weeks  of  the  rising  had 
given  way  to  the  old  suspicions  and  dissensions 
so  characteristic  of  the  Poles  and  so  fatal  to 
their  cause.  The  democratic  party  in  the  towns, 
disciples  of  the  French  Jacobins,  who  wanted  to 
set  up  a  Reign  of  Terror  in  Poland,  the  peas- 
ants who  wanted  to  be  freed  from  serfdom,  and 
the  nobles,  conservative  to  the  core,  who  felt 
they  had  already  gone  too  far  in  agreeing  to  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  the  3d  of  May, 
all  suspected  one  another,  and  agreed  only  in 
their  suspicions  of  Kosciuszko.  The  King  had 
from  the  beginning  been  a  negligible  factor. 
Though  kept  under  constant  surveillance  for 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION    235 

fear  he  would  try  to  escape  to  Russia,  he  was 
otherwise  treated  with  respect,  but  on  the  un- 
derstanding that  he  should  take  no  part  in  pub- 
lic affairs.  Kosciuszko  was  the  real  ruler  of  the 
country. 

The  arrival  of  the  Russian  troops  from  the 
south  meant  a  speedy  end  to  his  power  and  to 
all  his  hopes.  Swiftly,  surely,  and  ruthlessly 
the  Russian  general,  Suvdroff,  cut  to  pieces  the 
Polish  forces  who  opposed  his  march  to  Warsaw. 
Arrived  there,  he  demanded  the  surrender  of 
the  city,  and  being  refused,  the  Russians  cap- 
tured Praga,  a  suburb  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river,  massacred  practically  all  the  inhabitants, 
and  burned  the  town.  On  November  8  they 
entered  Warsaw,  and  Poland's  freedom  was 
ended. 

^fhe  capitulation  of  the  capital  without  re- 
sistance had  been  accomplished,  however,  only 
on  condition  that  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison, 
who  refused  to  lay  down  their  arms,  should  be 
allowed  to  march  out.  The  Russian  general, 
in  giving  the  permission,  added  that  all  those 
who  chose  this  alternative  might  be  sure  of  not 
escaping  elsewhere,  and  that,  when  overtaken, 
no  quarter  would  be  given  them.  In  spite  of 
this  threat,  the  whole  garrison,  to  a  man, 
marched  out,  accompanied  by  civilians  in  such 


236    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

numbers  that  altogether  their  company  counted 
thirty  thousand  souls. 

Kosciuszko  had  been  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner  in  a  last  vain  attempt  at  Maciegowice, 
October  lo,  to  check  the  advancing  Russians. 
After  his  wound  was  healed  he  was  sent  to  St. 
Petersburg,  where  he  was  kept  a  prisoner  until 
the  death  of  the  Empress  in  1796. 

The  political  leaders  of  the  revolution,  in- 
cluding Count  Ignacy  Potocki,  Zakrezewsky, 
the  president  of  the  Revolutionary  Council, 
and  three  other  of  its  members,  shared  a  like 
fate.  The  troops  still  in  the  field,  however, 
were  allowed  to  capitulate  on  honorable  terms. 
King  Stanislaus,  by  Catharine's  orders,  went 
to  Grodno,  where  he  lived  until  her  death, 
when  the  Emperor  Paul  invited  him  to  St. 
Petersburg,  gave  him  an  ample  pension,  and 
the  Marble  Palace  for  a  residence,  where  he 
lived  in  comfort,  if  not  happiness,  until  his 
death  in  1798.  The  Emperor  Paul  also  freed 
Kosciuszko  and  his  fellow  prisoners  in  1796. 
Kosciuszko,  after  visits  to  England  and  Amer- 
ica, where  he  was  received  with  almost  unpar- 
alleled enthusiasm,  made  his  home  in  France 
until  his  death  in  181 7. 

Meanwhile  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria  di- 
JRrided  the  remaining  territories  of  Poland  be- 


THE  ERA  OF  PARTITION     2Z^ 

tween  them.  Russia  took  in  the  south  what 
remained  of  Volhynia  and  Podlesia,  thus  ex- 
tending her  boundary  to  the  Bug;  in  the  north 
Courland.and  Samogitia  (thus  giving  her  all 
the  southeastern  Baltic  coast) ,  and  all  of  Lith- 
uania east  of  the  river  Niemen.  This  partition^ 
with  the  two  earlier  ones,  thus  restored  to  Rus-j 
sia  all  the  territories  conquered  from  her  by 
Lithuania  during  the  fourteenth  and  fifteentH 
centuries,  and  gave  her  in  addition  the  greaten 
part  of  Lithuania  itself.  Poland  proper  was\ 
divided  between  the  German  Powers.  Prussia 
secured  what  remained  of  Podlachia  and  of 
Masovia,  including  the  city  of  Warsaw,  and 
all  of  Lithuania  west  of  the  Niemen  —  the 
territories  which  to-day  make  up  New  East 
Prussia  and  New  Silesia. 

Austria  acquired  the  district  between  the 
rivers  Pilica,  Vistula,  and  Bug,  a  region  com- 
prising all  of  Little  Poland  (the  palatinates  of 
Cracow,  Sandomir,  and  Lublin) ,  as  well  as  parts 
of  Red  Russia  (the  Palatinate  of  Chelm)  and  of 
Podlachia. 

The  formal  abdication  of  King  Stanislaus  on 
November  25,  1795,  completed  the  process  by 
which  Poland  was  wiped  off  the  map  of  Europe, 
and  by  a  secret  agreement  the  three  sovereigns, 
*' recognizing  the  necessity  of  abolishing  every- 


n 


238    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

thing  which  may  recall  the  memory  of  the 
existence  of  the  Kingdom  of  Poland,"  pledged 
themselves  never  to  use  the  name  of  Poland  in 
reference  to  any  of  the  territories  acquired  by 
them. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  GRAND  DUCHY  OF  WARSAW 

The  years  following  the  third  partition  were 
bitter  ones  for  Poland.  Most  of  the  nobles  who 
had  taken  an  active  interest  in  public  affairs 
and  had  escaped  imprisonment  were  in  exile, 
chiefly  in  Venice  and  Paris,  engaged  in  the  vain 
endeavor  to  enlist  the  interest  of  some  of  the 
powers  of  Europe  in  the  cause  of  Poland. 
France  and  Turkey  were  the  only  powers  that 
were  favorably  inclined  toward  Poland,  and 
neither  one  was  in  a  position  to  take  up  her 
cause  actively. 

The  years  1796  and  1797,  however,  altered 
the  situation  materially  in  France.  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  sent  into  Italy  by  the  Directory  in 
1796  to  fight  the  Austrians,  in  a  campaign  of 
surpassing  brilliance  had  not  only  conquered 
them,  but  the  King  of  Sardinia  ^  and  the  Pope 
as  well,  and  taken  possession  of  all  northern 
Italy  for  France.  Napoleon  had  thus  made 
himself  the  military  hero  of  Europe,  and  was 

*  The  Duke  of  Savoy  was  King  in  Sardinia  and  ruler  of 
Piedmont. 


240    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

already  well  started  on  the  road  to  empire.  In 
him  the  Poles  saw  a  bright  ray  of  hope  for  their 
future,  and  as  early  as  1796,  through  Count 
Oginski,  the  Polish  ''Confederacy*'  at  Paris 
opened  negotiations.  Though  telling  them  that 
the  Poles  must  arm  themselves  and  not  depend 
on  foreign  help,  Bonaparte  certainly  led  them 
to  think  that  he  would  aid  their  cause ;  with  the 
result  that  the  Polish  general,  Dombrowski, 
early  in  1797  sought  and  received  permission 
from  the  improvised  government  set  up  in  Italy 
by  the  French  to  raise  a  Polish  legion  to  enter 
the  French  service;  and  soon  eight  thousand 
Poles,  forming  two  legions,  were  in  arms,  eager 
to  enter  the  fray  against  their  old  enemy,  Aus- 
tria, and  in  so  doing,  as  they  fondly  hoped, 
strike  a  blow  for  Polish  independence.  During 
the  next  few  years  the  Polish  legions  bore  their 
part,  and  bore  it  gloriously,  in  the  French  cam- 
paigns in  Italy. 

The  First  Legion,  under  Dombrowski, 
marched  into  Rome  with  the  French  when  they 
turned  out  the  Pope  in  1798,  and  Dombrowski 
was  allowed  to  take  from  Loreto  the  trophies, 
the  Turkish  flag  and  saber,  which  the  Polish 
King,  John  Sobieski,  had  captured  from  the 
Turks  after  the  siege  of  Vienna  in  1683.  The 
flag   was   henceforth  always   with   the   First 


GRAND   DUCHY  OF  WARSAW    241 

Legion,  but  the  saber  they  sent  to  Kosciuszko, 
the  greatest  Polish  hero  since  Sobieski. 

During  1799  the  legions  took  part  in  the  bat- 
tles of  the  Trebbia,  Novi,  and  Mantua  against 
the  Austrians  and  their  Russian  allies.  In  these 
campaigns  the  legions  were  almost  annihilated, 
but  they  were  quickly  replaced  by  new  volun- 
teers, so  that  in  the  campaign  of  1800  nearly 
nine  thousand  Poles  were  engaged. 

The  Peace  of  Luneville,  February,  1801, 
which  closed  the  Italian  campaign,  was  a  pro- 
found disappointment  to  the  Poles,  as  no  men- 
tion was  made  of  them  in  it.  Many  of  them 
quitted  the  French  service  in  despair  or  disgust, 
and  the  rest  were  sent  with  the  French  con- 
tingent under  General  LeClerc,  to  reduce  the 
island  of  St.  Domingo,  then  in  rebellion  against 
the  French.  Few  returned  from  this  expedi- 
tion, yellow  fever  carrying  ofl  most  of  those  who 
were  not  killed  in  battle. 

In  spite  of  this  sad  ending,  the  Polish  legions 
had  done  a  real  service  to  the  Polish  cause. 
They  were  the  only  representatives  of  their 
nation  during  those  dark  years,  and  their  valor 
alone  kept  alive  and  fresh  in  the  minds  of  an 
indifferent  and  forgetful  Europe  the  memory  of 
her  great  past. 

Brighter  days  seemed  to  dawn  for  Poland, 


242     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

however,  in  1806.  In  that  year  Napoleon  con- 
quered Prussia  and  took  away  from  her  all  the 
1  Polish  territories  acquired  by  her  at  the  second 
and  third  partitions,  together  with  Kulmer- 
land,  Cujavia,  and  the  Netze  district  acquired 
by  the  first  partition,  leaving  her,  of  all  her 
Polish  lands,  only  West  Prussia  north  of  the 
Netze.  These  territories,  with  the  exception  of 
the  district  of  Bialystok,  ceded  to  Russia,  and 
Danzig,  which  was  made  a  free  city  under  the 
protection  of  Russia  and  Saxony,  were  joined 
by  Napoleon  into  the  Duchy  of  Warsaw,  an 
autonomous  state  with  a  Constitution  modeled 
on  that  of  the  Empire  in  France. 

In  1809  Napoleon  made  a  new  treaty  with 
Austria,  the  Treaty  of  Vienna,  by  which  Aus- 
tria ceded  to  him  all  her  Polish  territories  ac- 
quired by  the  third  partition;  namely,  western 
or  New  Galicia,  including  Cracow,  and  the 
southeast  comer  of  Old  Galicia.  The  latter, 
Napoleon  gave  to  his  friend  and  ally,  the  Em- 
peror of  Russia,  while  West  Galicia  was  added 
to  the  Duchy  of  Warsaw,  which  was  then 
raised  to  the  rank  of  a  Grand  Duchy.  The  King 
of  Saxony  was  made  Grand  Duke,  and  nomi- 
nally ruled  the  country,  with  the  cooperation  of 
a  Diet  of  two  houses,  the  lower  House  elected 
by  the  nobles  and  townspeople.  The  power  of 


GRAND   DUCHY  OF  WARSAW    243 

the  Grand  Duke  was  greatly  limited,  however, 
by  the  fact  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  appoint 
a  viceroy,  so  that  in  his  absence  he  had  no  per- 
sonal representative  in  the  duchy;  and  also  by 
the  fact  that  he  had  no  control  over  the  foreign 
relations  of  the  country,  France  alone  having  a 
representative  Resident  at  Warsaw.  The  real 
power,  indeed,  was  vested  in  the  hands  of  this 
Resident,  who  was  Napoleon's  personal  repre- 
sentative. 

The?  Connti^ntinn-afeeUdied  serfdom  in  th^pry, 
but  as  no  land  was  given  to  the  peasants  their 
condition  was  made  worse  thereby,  rather  than 
better,  as  they  remained  economically  entirely 
dependent  upon  their  former  owners,  and  the 
legal  fact  of  freedom  released  the  latter  from 
all  responsibility  for  the  peasants,  and  enabled 
them  to  take  away  the  land  and  lease  it  to 
others,  as  well  as  to  withdraw  certain  custom- 
ary privileges,  such  as  the  use  of  the  owner's 
wood  and  pasture  land,  from  those  who  re- 
mained. 

Civil  equality  was  also  established  by 
law,  but  the  Polish  nobility  resented  it,  and 
Napoleon  did  not  care  enough  about  it  to  op- 
pose them,  so  the  law  was  never  enforced.  The 
introduction  of  the  Code  Napoleon,  on  the 
contrary,  was  a  real  reform,  and  wrought  a 


244    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

great  amelioration  in  Poland,  and  has  remained 
in  force  ever  since. 

The  real  interests  of  the  French  in  Poland 
were  military.  The  Poles  were  excellent  sol- 
diers, and  Napoleon  gave  just  sufficient  en- 
couragement to  their  national  hopes  to  get 
their  loyal  and  devoted  service. 

From  the  first,  however,  there  were  many 
who  had  no  faith  in  him,  and  held  persistently 
aloof.  Kosciuszko  was  one  of  these.  Napoleon, 
knowing  that  a  manifesto  in  his  name  would 
call  the  whole  of  Poland  to  the  French  colors, 
had  done  his  best  to  win  the  Polish  leader  to  his 
side.  But  Kosciuszko  refused  to  come  until 
Napoleon  should  actually  annex  the  Russian 
provinces  and  declare  the  old  kingdom  re- 
established —  which  he  never  did. 

Many  Polish  landowners  also  resented  bit- 
terly Napoleon's  confiscation  of  their  estates 
for  the  benefit  of  his  marshals  and  generals. 
No  less  than  twenty-seven  of  them  were  es- 
tablished in  Poland,  some  of  them  on  estates 
of  enormous  size. 

Napoleon's  military  demands  upon  the  coun- 
try, also,  were  a  heavy  burden,  and  created  a 
certain  amount  of  disaffection.  He  made  the 
country  a  vast  recruiting  ground,  from  which 
he  had  taken  by  1812  something  like  ninety 


GRAND   DUCHY  OF  WARSAW    245 

thousand  men.  Ravaged  by  war,  its  trade  with 
England  greatly  reduced  when  not  entirely  cut 
off  by  the  Continental  blockade,  —  and  Eng- 
land was  the  chief  market  for  the  grain  and 
timber  that  were  Poland's  great  exports,  —  the 
country  was  in  no  condition  to  bear  the  burden 
of  raising  and  supporting  so  many  troops.  By 
181 1  the  deficit  was  twenty-one  million  francs, 
and  M.  de  Pradt,  Napoleon's  Ambassador  at 
Warsaw,  reported  a  condition  of  general 
wretchedness.  Nothing,  he  says,  could  exQ^ed 
the  misery  of  all  classes.  The  army  was  not 
paid,  the  officers  were  in  rags,  the  best  houses 
were  in  ruins;  the  greatest  lords  were  com- 
pelled to  leave  Warsaw  from  want  of  money 
to  provide  their  tables.  But  in  spite  of  doubts 
and  disillusion,  when  Napoleon  finally  broke 
with  Russia,  and  in  the  early  summer  of  1812 
invaded  the  country,  the  great  majority  of  the 
Poles  still  believed  in  him.  The  very  existence 
of  the  Duchy  of  Warsaw  made  this  faith  in- 
evitable. Prince  Czartoryski  said  of  it:  "It  is 
a  sort  of  phantom  of  ancient  Poland  which  pro- 
duces an  infallible  effect  on  all  who  regard  that 
country  as  their  real  fatherland.  It  is  as  if,  after 
you  had  lost  a  dear  friend,  his  shade  should 
come  to  assure  you  that  he  will  soon  be  restored 
to  you  in  person." 


246    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

Seventy  thousand  Poles,  under  Prince  Joseph 
Poniatowski,  formed  the  Fifth  Corps  of  the 
Grande  Arm6e  when  it  marched  into  Russia. 
They  believed  that  they  were  about  to  conquer 
Lithuania,  add  it  to  Warsaw,  and  thus  create 
a  reunited  Poland.  An  extraordinary  session 
of  the  Diet  of  the  Grand  Duchy,  called  just  be- 
fore the  Russian  invasion,  gave  official  sanc- 
tion to  this  view  by  declaring  the  Kingdom  of 
Poland  reconstituted,  recalling  all  Poles  from 
the  Russian  service,  and  declaring  them  ab- 
solved from  their  allegiance  to  the  Russian 
Emperor. 

The  defeat  and  retreat  of  Napoleon  dashed 
all  these  hopes.  By  February,  1 813,  the  Russian 
army  had  driven  the  French  from  Lithuania, 
was  invading  the  Grand  Duchy  itself,  and  once 
again  Poland's  capital  city  was  in  the  hands 
of  her  old  enemy,  and  her  people  awaiting  the 
vengeance  of  the  Russian  ruler. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   **  CONGRESS  KINGDOM  ''   AND  THE 
REVOLUTION  OF    183O 

The  ruler  of  Russia  at  this  time  was  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  I,  and  he  had  no  thought  of 
exacting  vengeance  from  the  Poles.  His  pol- 
icy was  something  very  different,  indeed,  from 
vengeance.  It  was  nothing  less  than  the  restora- 
tion of  an  autonomous  and  liberal  government 
to  a  reunited  Poland.  This  was  an  extraordi- 
nary policy  for  a  Russian  czar,  —  even  with 
his  condition  that  Poland  must  always  remain 
a  part  of  the  Russian  Empire,  —  and  had  in- 
deed an  interesting  history, 

Of  an  open,  impressionable,  and  somewhat 
sentimental  nature,  the  Emperor  had  very 
early  become  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  Rousseau,  through  the  influence  of  his 
Swiss  tutor,  La  Harpe ;  and  even  during  the  life- 
time of  his  grandmother,  the  Empress  Catha- 
rine, he  had  expressed  his  hatred  and  horror  of 
her  principles  and  policy,  and  had  declared  that 
when  he  came  to  the  throne,  he  would  give  the 
subject  peoples  their  liberty.  His  interest  had 
been  especially  attracted  to  the  Poles  by  their 


248    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

heroism  in  the  Revolution  of  1794,  and  by  the 
impression  made  upon  his  youthful  imagina- 
tion by  Kosciuszko,  whom  his  father,  the  Em- 
peror Paul,  had  visited  in  prison,  and  on  one 
occasion  had  taken  his  son  with  him.  He  was 
thus  already  strongly  inclined  to  the  Polish 
cause,  before  the  chief  influence  in  that  direc- 
tion came  into  his  life  in  the  person  of  young 
Prince  Adam  Czartoryski,  son  of  Prince  Adam 
Casimir,  and  grandson  of  the  old  Prince  Pala- 
tine. This  young  man  came  to  Petersburg  in 
1795  to  beg  the  restoration  of  their  estates  to 
his  family,  and  was  made  aide-de-camp  to  the 
young  Grand  Duke  Alexander  by  the  Empress. 
The  two  boys  at  once  became  the  closest  friends, 
and  the  outcome  of  that  friendship  was  that 
Alexander  resolved  to  restore  to  the  Poles  their 
lost  territories  and  their  lost  liberties,  and  to 
rule  them  himself  as  a  constitutional  king. 

When  Alexander  succeeded  to  the  throne  in 
1 80 1,  he  not  only  took  measures  to  ameliorate 
the  conditions  of  his  own  people,  but  he  called 
Prince  Adam  Czartoryski  to  Russia  and  made 
him  Curator  of  the  new  University  of  Wilna, 
which  he  made  the  center  of  Polish  influence 
and  Polish  political  propaganda.  In  1804  he 
made  Czartoryski  Russian  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  allowed   him  to  work  definitely 


THE   REVOLUTION  OF   1830    249 

(though  indirectly,  on  account  of  the  opposi- 
tion of  Austria  and  Prussia  to  any  such  meas- 
ure) toward  the  restoration  of  Poland  to  her 
frontiers  of  1772.  Czartoryski  did  this  very 
largely  by  his  championship  of  the  principle  of 
nationality,  in  order  to  accustom  Europe  to  the 
idea  as  a  basis  for  Europeain  reconstruction 
after  the  defeat  of  Napoleon.  He  tried  also,  in 
1806,  to  draw  Russia  into  a  war  with  Prussia, 
by  which  Alexander  might  get  possession  of 
Prussia's  Polish  provinces  and  incorporate 
them  in  his  Polish  kingdom.  The  Emperor, 
however,  was  not  willing  to  go  so  far.  Some 
years  of  experience,  and  the  councils  of  other 
ministers,  to  whom  the  Polish  question  was 
only  one,  and  not  the  chief  one,  of  many  con- 
siderations which  should  form  the  policy  of  the 
Czar  of  all  the  Russias,  had  somewhat  cooled 
his  ardor  for  the  Poles,  or  had  at  least  convinced 
him  that  for  the  time  being  he  could  do  nothing 
for  them. 

Instead,  he  made  an  alliance  with  their  worst 
enemy,  Prussia,  against  Napoleon,  whereupon 
the  Poles  (even  including  Prince  Adam  Czar- 
toryski) lost  all  faith  in  him,  and  were  thus  the 
more  ready  to  turn  to  Napoleon  when,  after 
the  defeat  of  the  Prussians  at  Jena  in  1806,  he 
established  the  Duchy  of  Warsaw. 


250    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF   POLAND 

Alexander,  however,  had  not  lost  interest  in 
Poland,  and  when  the  events  of  1812  made 
him  master  of  the  Duchy,  thus  giving  him  con- 
trol of  nearly  nine  tenths  of  the  ancient  Repub- 
lic of  Poland,  he  began  at  once  to  plan  for  the 
reunion  of  all  the  Poles  in  an  autonomous  free 
state.  Knowing,  however,  that  Austria  and 
Prussia  would  hate  his  plan,  and  that  the  Rus- 
sian people  would  oppose  it  violently,  he  said 
nothing  publicly  about  Poland  until  the  War  of 
Liberation  had  overthrown  Napoleon,  and  the 
Congress  of  Vienna  had  come  together  in  1814 
to  reorganize  Europe.  By  that  time  his  agents 
in  Warsaw  had  already  established  a  provisional 
government  in  the  Grand  Duchy  under  Prince 
Adam  Czartoryski,  and  a  committee  of  Poles, 
under  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  was  al- 
ready at  work  on  the  reorganization  of  the  Pol- 
ish army.  At  Vienna  the  Emperor  announced 
his  plan  of  keeping  the  Grand  Duchy  and  mak- 
ing it  into  a  constitutional  kingdom,  ruled 
under  a  separate  title  by  himself  and  his  suc- 
cessors on  the  Russian  throne.  He  had  gained 
the  consent  of  the  King  of  Prussia  to  this  plan 
by  promising  him  all  of  Saxony  in  compensa- 
tion. Saxony  was  to  be  taken  away  from  its  own 
king  to  punish  him  for  his  faithful  friendship  to 
Napoleon. 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1830    251 

Austria,  France,  and  England  were  one  and 
all  strongly  opposed  to  the  plan,  and  the  ques- 
tion became  one  of  the  most  difficult  the  Con- 
gress had  to  settle.  At  one  time  war  seemed 
unavoidable,  as  neither  side  was  willing  to  yield. 
Finally,  however,  the  Emperor  agreed  to  com- 
promise regarding  the  territory  to  be  included 
in  his  new  kingdom.  He  would  not  yield  the 
point  of  the  kingdom  itself.  By  this  compro- 
mise only  part  of  Saxony  was  sacrificed  to 
Prussia,  and  instead  of  the  rest,  Prussia  re- 
ceived back  the  Polish  province  of  Posen,  com- 
prising about  one  fourth  of  the  Grand  Duchy 
of  Warsaw.  The  Emperor  also  ceded  back  to 
Austria  the  province  of  Tamapol,  lost  by  her  in 
1809.  The  town  of  Cracow  and  its  environs  was 
declared  by  the  Congress  a  free  city,  called  the 
*'  Republic  of  Cracow,**  because  neither  Austria 
nor  Russia  would  let  the  other  have  it. 

Out  of  the  remainder  of  the  Grand  Duchy 
of  Warsaw,  a  scant  three  quarters  of  it,  which 
amounted  to  about  one  sixth  only  of  the  old 
Republic  of  Poland,  the  Emperor  made  his  new 
Kingdom  or  ''Czardom**  of  Poland,  the  "Con- 
gress Kingdom.**  Alexander  reserved  the  right  / 
to  add  to  the  territory  of  this  Kingdom  at  his/ 
pleasure,  and  undoubtedly  intended  to  include 
a  part  if  not  the  whole    of   Lithuania  in  It 


252    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

ultimately,  when  he  could  see  his  way  to  do  so 
without  too  great  offense  to  his  Russian  sub- 
jects, who  would  resent  liberties  granted  to  the 
Poles  and  not  to  them.  The  belief  that  this 
/would  be  done  was  the  reason  for  the  rejoicing 
I  of  the  Poles  over  the  formation  of  the  Congress 
I  Kingdom,  small  as  it  was.  The  disappointment 
of  their  hopes  was  the  chief  reason  for  the  Rev- 
olution of  1830.  As  a  result  of  the  arrangements 
/of  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  the  territories  of  the 
/ancient  Republic  of  Poland  were  in  181 5  under 
{five  distinct  administrations;  namely,  (i)  Aus- 
trian Poland,  (2)  Prussian  Poland,  (3)  the 
Lithuanian  territories  incorporated  in  the  Rus- 
sian Empire,  (4)  the  autonomous  Congress 
Kingdom,  ruled  by  the  Emperor  as  King,  and 
(5)  the  Republic  of  Cracow. 

The  Final  Act  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
stipulated  that  the  Poles,  in  the  territories 
ceded  to  Prussia  and  Austria,  should  receive 
'*a  representation  and  national  institutions." 
It  guaranteed  also  the  freedom  of  trade,  of 
navigation,  and  of  intercommunication  across 
the  frontiers  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
Poland  of  1772. 

These  provisions  show  that  the  Congress  of 
Vienna  had  in  mind,  not  merely  the  division  of 
Polish  territory  among  the  Powers,  but  made 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1830    253 

an  attempt  to  offer  at  least  a  partial  solution  of 
the  Polish  problem  by  removing  some  of  the 
chief  grievances  of  the  Polish  people. 

The  results  of  these  arrangements  were,  how- 
ever, far  from  satisfactory.    It  was  in  Russia, 
where  the  ruler  had  a  real  and  personal  inter- 
est in  Polish  freedom,  that  the  hopes  of  the 
Poles  were  naturally  centered.   The  CopstituA 
tinn  g^ranit.fd  hy  |he  frTTlpf*''!^*'  -^''"''°  a  good  one. 
It  provided  a  Parliament  of  two  houses,  to 
meet  every  two  years;  the  lower  House  was 
elective,  and  the  franchise  was  the  most  liberal 
in  Europe ;  the  executive  was  vested  in  a  Polish 
Council  of  State,  headed  by  a  viceroy  acting 
for  the  king;  the  ministers  were  responsible,   j 
Polish  was  to  be  the  official  language,  and  all  { 
government  officials  were  to  be  Poles.  Freedom  i 
of  religion,  freedom  from  arbitrary  arrest,  and 
liberty  of  the  press  were  guaranteed.  This  Con-  / 
stitution  seemed  to  promise  the  development/ 
of  a  real  and  healthy  national  life. 

The  great  difficulty  was  that  all  R^sia  wa^ 
opposedLjtoit.  The  Emperor  was  perhaps 


only  man  in  the  country  thoroughly  in  favor 
of  it.  The  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  the  Em- 
peror's brother,  in  charge  of  the  Polish  army 
during  the  period  of  provisional  government, 
simply  ignored  the  Constitution  altogether, 


254    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

pursuing  his  own  autocratic  way  as  though  it 
did  not  exist.  The  Russian  Imperial  Commis- 
sioner, Nicholas  Novosiltsoff,  appointed  to 
watch  over  Russian  interests,  was  also  wholly 
opposed  to  the  Constitution,  and  constantly 
usurped  authority  himself,  as  well  as  encour- 
aged and  incited  the  Grand  Duke  in  his  course. 
Novosiltsoff,  indeed,  was  the  evil  genius  of  the 
Poles,  hated  by  them  as  perhaps  few  men  have 
been.  Clever,  astute,  and  thoroughly  informed, 
he  concealed  under  an  outward  profession  of 
the  most  liberal  opinions  and  enlightened  aims 
the  characteristics  of  the  most  arbitrary  and 
evil  of  Russian  bureaucrats.  As  one  of  the  early 
friends  of  Alexander  I,  a  confidant  and,  sup- 
posedly, a  sharer  of  his  liberal  views,  Novo- 
siltsoff had  great  influence  with  him,  and  was 
probably  one  of  those  largely  responsible  for  the 
fact  that  after  1818  the  Emperor  began  gradu- 
ally but  surely  to  abandon  his  liberal  ideas. 

Though  ideally  interested  in  liberalism, 
Alexander  was  temperamentally  an  autocrat, 
and  never  really  understood  or  liked  constitu- 
tional government.  He  regarded  parliamentary 
opposition  to  his  wishes  as  ingratitude,  and  was 
profoundly  displeased  when  government  bills 
designed  to  destroy  the  liberty  of  the  press  and 
the  responsibility  of  ministers  were  defeated. 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1830    255 

He  was  also  much  concerned  over  the  bad 
financial  conditions  of  the  Kingdom.  There 
was  a  large  and  increasing  deficit,  at  the  same 
time  that  the  taxes  were  levied  with  extreme 
vigor  and  were  deeply  resented  by  the  people. 
Novosiltsoff  was  continually  urging  the  finan- 
cial situation  as  evidence  of  the  incapacity  of 
the  Poles  for  self-government.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Poles  saw  and  pointed  out  that  it  was 
the  army  which  was  eating  up  the  income,  and 
the  Grand  Duke  Constantine  was  constantly  in- 
creasing both  the  equipment  and  the  size  of  the 
army  without  any  regard  to  expense,  and  quite 
independently  of  the  constitutional  budget. 
Added  to  this  was  also  the  fact  that  the  origi- 
nal army,  before  the  Grand  Duke's  additions, 
had  been  rather  larger  than  the  Kingdom  could 
well  support,  but  had  been  accepted  on  the 
supposition  that  the  Emperor  was  going  very 
shortly  to  add  the  Western  Provinces  to  the 
Kingdom. 

In  1 82 1  Prince  Xavier  Lubecki  was  appointed 
Finance  Minister,  and  quite  revolutionized  the 
finances  of  the  Kingdom,  putting  them  in  a 
vei-y  prosperous  condition  in  a  very  short  time. 
But  in  order  to  do  this  he  had  to  use  unconsti- 
tutional means.  Lubecki  was  a  Pole,  a  consti- 
tutionalist and  a  patriot,  and  regretted  the 


256    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

means  he  had  to  employ,  but  he  thought  he  saw 
the  very  existence  of  the  Kingdom  threatened 
by  herJnsolverLcy^nd  overrode  tbg  rnncj^fn- 
tion  in  orderjp  s^e  it. 

1  he  Polish  people,  however,  were  profoundly 
disillusioned  by  this  disregard  of  the  Constitu- 
tion by  both  friend  and  foe,  as  well  as  by  the 
Emperor*s  long  delay  in  creating  a  Greater 
Poland.  Many  of  them  believed  that  he  was 
going  to  do  away  with  the  Constitution  alto- 
gether, and  they  began  their  traditional  secret 
revolutionary  agitation.  A  secret  society,  the 
National  Patriotic  AssociatioEi3KaZ3a2nMJii 
iSiQ  on  the  initiative  of  the  Poles  in  the^jais- 
sian  province  o_LPasen,  and  soon  spread  through- 
out  Greater  Poland,  using  the  Freemasons' 
lodges  as  centers.  In  1822  Novosiltsoff  ferreted 
out  its  existence,  and  got  the  leaders  impris- 
oned or  exiled,  but  it  was  soon  reorganized  in 
different  form,  and  flourished,  as  the  Grand 
Duke  Constantine,  who  in  his  own  autocratic 
and  barbaric  way  loved  the  Poles  (he  gave  up 
his  claim  to  the  Russian  throne  in  order  to 
marry  in  1820  a  Polish  lady,  Jeannette  Grud- 
zinska,  afterwards  Countess  Lovicz),  refused 
absolutely  to  believe  in  their  treachery,  and  the 
Emperor  accepted  his  brother's  faith  in  this 
matter. 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1830    257 

Alexander's  death  in  December,  1825,  at 
least  put  an  end  to  all  uncertainty  as  to  Poland's 
future.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  I,  who  suc- 
ceeded him,  was  reactionary  and  anti-Western 
in  his  whole  policy.  He  disliked  constitutions, 
was  entirely  unsympathetic  with  nationalist 
aspirations,  and  only  wanted  justification  for 
his  conscience  to  abolish  the  separate  adminis- 
tration of  the  Kingdom  altogether.  The  Poles 
realized  this,  and  from  the  moment  of  his  ac- 
cession they  waited  only  the  favorable  moment 
for  a  revolution.  The  success  of  the  revolu- 
tions in  France  and  Belgium  gave  them  cour- 
age; they  believed  that  France  would  help 
them,  and  were  goaded  to  fury  by  the  report 
that  the  Polish  army  was  to  be  obliged  to 
act  with  the  Russians  against  Belgium  and 
France.  The  result  was  that  at  the  end  of  No- 
vember, 1830,  a  military  insurrection  broke  out, 
in  which,  to  the  surprise  and  grief  of  Constan- 
tine,  practically  all  his  beloved  army  turned 
against  him.  Hated  by  the  Poles,  and  hated 
scarcely  less  by  the  Russians,  who  believed  his 
blind  faith  in  the  Poles  was  responsible  for  the 
whole  affair,  the  unhappy  man  succumbed 
without  resistance  or  regret  to  the  cholera  in 
June,  1831.  Meanwhile  the  Poles  had  their 
army  (and  thanks  to  Constantine  it  was  a  good 


258    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

one)  to  use  in  the  struggle  against  Russia. 
Their  only  hope  lay  in  striking  at  once,  strik- 
ing hard,  and  winning  thereby  assistance  from 
France,  for  only  through  outside  aid  was  ulti- 
mate success  against  Russia  possible. 

But  as  always  in  Poland,  divided  counsels 
made  united  and  prompt  action  impossible. 
There  were  two  parties  in  Poland  at  this  time. 
The  ''Re^s/^orJT^tdot^  members  of  the 
secret  Patriotic  Association  mentioned  above, 
were  strongly  democratic  and  radical  in  their 
ideas  of  government,  as  well  as  strongly  nation- 
alist. All  the  lesser  nobles,  or  szlachta,  as  well 
as  the  townspeople,  belonged  to  this  party,  and 
they  commanded  a  majority  in  the  Council  of 
State.  This  majority  had  accepted  the  over- 
throw of  the  Constitution  of  1815,  had  con- 
stituted themselves  a  provisional  revolutionary 
government,  and  were  in  favor  of  fighting. 
They  had  with  them  the  majority  of  the  Diet, 
and  probably  of  the  country.  The  historian 
Lelewel  and  Count  Wladislaus  Ostrowski  were 
the  leaders  of  this  party. 

The  "Whites,"  on  the  other  hand,  though  as 
strongly  nationalist  as  the  Reds,  were  conserva- 
tive and  aristocratic  in  their  ideas,  and  though 
they  represented  the  minority,  had  yet  among 
their  number  all  the  leading  personalities,  in- 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1830    259 

eluding  Prince  Adam  Czartoryski,  the  head  of 
the  Council,  and  General  Joseph  Chlopicki,  the 
head  of  the  army.  Thi^s.party.waritedcornpro- 
mise  with  Russia,  realizing  the  hopelessness  of 
a  struggle  against  her,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
seeing  no  future  for  Poland  except  through  the 
Russian  connection.  They  overthrew  the  pro- 
visional government  of  the  Reds,  and  set  up 
General  Chlopicki  as  Dictator,  who  at  once 
opened  negotiations  with  Russia  for  a  com- 
promise. As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  no  com- 
promise was  possible,  since  Whites  as  well  as 
Reds  stood  firmly  by  their  demands  of  com- 
plete amnesty,  maintenance  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  the  reunion  of  Podolia,  Volhynia,  and 
the  Ukraine  with  the  Kingdom.  And  the  Em- 
peror on  his  side  would  accept  nothing  but 
unconditional  surrender.  Upon  learning  this, 
the  Poles  declared  war  in  January,  1831.  They 
were  joined  by  the  Poles  in  Russia's*  Western 
Provinces,  and  though  they  were  no  match  for 
the  might  of  Russia,  yet  their  skill,  bravery, 
and  enthusiasm  kept  the  Russians  busy  for 
eight  months,  and  convinced  the  Emperor  that 
the  Poles  were  a  dangerous  people. 

By  September,  1831,  the  Kingdom  was  un 
conditionally  in  the  Emperor's  hands,  and  in 
February,  1832,  he  issued  an  "Organic  Statute 


?] 


260     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

on  the  government  of  Poland,  to  replace  the 
Constitution.  By  this,  Poland  was  declared 
an  m^ral  part  of  the  Russian  Empire,  and 
was  to  be  governed  by  a  Council  of  State  ap- 
pointed by  the  Emperor. 

Thousands  of  Polish  soldiers  escaped  to 
France,  Prussia,  and  Austria,  and  became  cen- 
ters of  agitation  for  Polish  liberty.  As  a  con- 
cession to  France  and  England,  whose  govern- 
ments were  supporting  the  cause  of  the  Poles 
very  vigorously  by  all  peaceful  means,  the 
Emperor  allowed  Poland  to  keep  its  separate 
administration,  its  own  judiciary,  its  guaranty 
of  freedom  from  arbitrary  arrest,  and  a  some- 
what limited  freedom  of  opinion  and  of  religion, 
as  well  as  its  old  system  of  local  government. 

The  Emperor,  however,  managed  to  make  all 
these  concessions  nugatory  in  fact  by  estab- 
lishing at  Petersburg  the  new  Department  of 
Affairs  of  the  Czardom  of  Poland,  with  Pas- 
/kievich  as  its  head.  The  real  government  of 
Poland  was  in  the  hands  of  this  department. 
Five  of  its  members  were  Poles,  Prince  Lubecki 
among  them,  but  its  influential  members  were 
Russians,  and  hostile  to  Poland,  —  as,  for  exam- 
ple, Novosiltsoff ,  —  and  the  Polish  members 

ere  regarded  as  traitors  by  their  countrymen. 

In  1833  risings  in  various  parts  of  Poland  led 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1830    261 

to  the  abandonment  of  all  pretense  of  govern- 
ment by  the  Organic  Statute,  though  it  re- 
mained nominally  in  force  until  1847,  when  it 
was  abolished  by  imperial  ukase. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   REVOLUTION  OF    1 863 

Since  1831  the  Congress  Kingdom  has  been 
an  integral  part  of  the  Russian  Empire.  Its 
territories  form  the  ten  governments  of  the  Vis- 
tula, and  are  ruled,  as  are  the  rest  of  the  Rus- 
sian governments  or  provinces,  by  a  governor 
appointed  by  the  Emperor,  and  the  policy  of 
Russia  toward  them  has  depended,  first,  on 
the  general  policy  of  the  ruling  Emperor  to- 
ward all  his  peoples,  and  secondly,  on  the  de- 
gree of  revolutionary  activity  going  on,  or 
known  to  be  going  on,  in  Poland. 

Russian  emperors  in  modern  times  have  been 
of  two  general  types  —  the  followers  of  Peter 
the  Great,  who  wished  to  westernize  Russia, 
to  bring  her  in  contact  with  the  life,  thought, 
and  institutions  of  western  Europe,  and  to 
obliterate  as  far  as  possible  the  differences, 
social  and  economic  as  well  as  political,  that 
have  kept  her  since  the  thirteenth  century  a 
nation  apart.  The  other  party,  the  Old 
Russian  Party,  has  taken  the  position  that 
Russia  is,  by  her  geographical  position  and 
iDy  her  inherent  characteristics,  not  a  Western 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    263 

but  an  Eastern  Power;  that  she  is  essentially 
different  from  and  in  many  ways  superior  to 
western  Europe,  and  that  her  true  lines  of 
development  lie  in  quite  other  directions. 
Russia  should  look  within  herself,  and  find 
there,  in  her  own  traditions  and  in  her  own 
characteristic  institutions,  the  ideals  and  prin- 
ciples of  her  development.  All  else  is  imitation 
and  superficial,  and  can  never  result  in  a  whole- 
some national  life.  By  the  early  nineteenth 
century  the  Old  Russian  idea  had  taken  a 
slightly  different  form.  The  Old  Russians  had 
discovered  that  all  the  essentially  Russian 
characteristics  were  Slav  characteristics,  and 
differentiated  all  Slavs  equally  with  Russians 
from  Western  European  and  non-Slav  peoples^ 
The  Old  Russian  idea  then  became  the  Slavo-\ 
phil  or  Pan-Slav  idea  —  the  preservation  and 
development  of  a  Slav  civilization,  which  they 
conceived  could  practically  be  carried  out  only 
by  bringing  all  the  Slav  peoples  together  in  a 
strongly  centralized,  autocratic,  Orthodox  Em- 
pire, ruled  by  the  Russian  Emperor.  A  Slavo- 
phil became  thus  practically  a  Russophil 
policy. 

Liberals  of  the  type  of  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander I,  who  had  believed  in  decentraliza- 
tion, and  whose  idea  of  the  Russian  Empire 


264    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

was  a  federation  of  autonomous  states  organ- 
ized along  national  lines,  could  encourage 
nationalist  aspirations  in  Poland  with  impu- 
nity. But  the  Emperor  Nicholas  I  was  a  Slavo- 
phil, and  between  1830  and  1840  the  greater 
number  of  Russian  intellectuals  sympathized 
with  this  view.  The  Slavophils  could  welcome 
the  Poles  to  a  Pan-Slav  state  only  after  they 
had  renounced  their  nationalism,  and  regarded 
the  Polish  nationalist  Revolution  of  1831  as 
treachery  to  the  Pan-Slav  cause. 

By  1840,  however,  the  rigidly  repressive 
government  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  had  alien- 
ated every  type  of  liberal  from  his  govern- 
ment, and  had  produced  a  new  type  of  Pan- 
Slavist,  who  saw  that  the  Pan-Slav  ideal  was 
not  at  all  incompatible  in  its  essentials  with 
liberty  and  national  autonomy,  and  from  this 
time  on,  the  Russian  liberals  were  generally 
sympathetic  and  desirous  of  friendship  with 
Poland. 

Under  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  however,  there 
was  no  opportunity  to  carry  out  these  friendly 
ideas.  He  pursued  undeviatingly  and  un- 
flinchingly the  impossible  task  of  destroying  the 
very  memory  of  Poland  and  of  making  good 
Russians  out  of  the  Poles.  He  closed  the  great 
Polish  universities  of  Wilna  and  Warsaw,  so 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    265 

that  Poles  would  be  obliged  to  send  their  sons 
to  Russian  institutions,  where  the  Polish  lan- 
guage was  never  heard,  the  study  of  Polish 
history  was  forbidden,  and  Polish  youth  were 
trained  for  the  Russian  service.  The  youth  of 
the  lower  classes  were  drafted  into  the  Russian 
army  in  such  numbers  that  Poland  was  shorn 
of  young  men.  In  trade  and  commerce,  also, 
the  attemgtwas  made  thoroughly  to  Russian- 
ize^he  country;  the  prohibitive  Russian  tariff 
pra^ticallyclosed  alT  Poland's  old  markets  to 
her,  and  contact  with  foreigners  was  discour- 


aged  by  a  passport  system  which  allowed^  prac- 
tically  no  one  to  leave  the  country.  The  press 
was  absolutely  under  government  supervision, 
and  a  secret  police  filled  the  prisons  with  all 
who  showed  any  opposition  to  the  system.  All 
sorts  of  restrictions  were  put  upon  visitors  to 
Poland,  making  it  difficult  and  uncomfortable   , 
for  them  to  stay  there.    In  short,  Poland  was   j 
made  to  feel  almost  every  hour  of  every  day  the  j 
grinding  tyranny  of  Russian  rule. 

But  it  was  all  in  vain.  The  heavier  the 
oppression  and  the  greater  the  indignities,  the 
hotter  burned  the  flame  of  Polish  patriotism. 
From  the  very  moment  the  Revolution  of  1830 
was  over,  the  Poles  began  preparing  by  secret 
underground  intrigues  for  a  new  revolution. 


266    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

These  Intrigues  were  carried  on,  not  only  in 
the  Kingdom  but  also  in  Posen,  and  especially 
in  the  Western  Provinces,  where  the  landed 
proprietors,  forming  only  about  ten  per  cent  of 
the  population,  were  Polish,  and  the  rest  of  the 
population  Russians,  Letts,  or  Jews.  These 
landed  proprietors  made  it  advantageous  for 
their  peasants  to  learn  the  Polish  language, 
taught  them  Polish  history,  influenced  them 
against  Russia,  and  finally  taught  them  to 
regard  themselves  as  Poles,  and  in  many  cases 
to  accept  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  of 
Poland.  The  Polish  clergy  were  very  active  in 
both  political  and  religious  propaganda,  with 
the  result  that  in  1855,  when  the  Emperor 
Nicholas  died,  the  Western  Provinces  were  far 
more  Polish  than  they  had  been  in  1830. 

The  death  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  was  a 
great  relief  to  all  his  oppressed  subjects, 
especially  to  the  Poles.  His  successor,  the 
Emperor  Alexander  II,  was  a  liberal,  and  in- 
troduced liberal  methods  at  once  into  the  gov- 
ernment of  all  parts  of  his  empire.  He  visited 
Poland  shortly  after  his  accession,  and  on  this 
occasion  took  the  first  steps  toward  establishing 
cordial  relations  between  himself  and  his  Polish 
subjects.  The  suspension  of  recruiting,  the 
pardon  of  prisoners  held  for  political  offenses, 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    267 

an  amnesty  granted,  with  very  few  exceptions, 
to  all  political  exiles,  by  which  all  emigrant 
Poles  of  the  Western  Provinces  as  well  as  of  the 
Kingdom  were  allowed  to  return  and  were 
restored  to  their  civil  rights,  and  the  restora- 
tion of  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  the 
Church,  were  the  reforms  that  brought  the 
greatest  relief  to  the  Poles.  Fully  as  important, 
however,  was  the  appointment  of  a  commission 
to  make  recommendations  as  to  the  best  way  of 
dealing  with  the  question  of  the  peasants  and 
the  land,  and  the  formation  with  government 
permission,  by  certain  landed  proprietors,  of  an 
Agricultural  Society  for  the  Kingdom.  _ 

The  relaxation  of  the  oppressive  tariff  and 
passport  systems  opened  the  way  for  a  revival 
of  trade  and  industry,  which  was  almost  im- 
mediately taken  advantage  of,  and  in  a  very 
short  time  poverty  and  despair  were  giving  way 
to  prosperity  and  hope. 

Although  the  Emperor  had  explicitly  said 
that  *'for  the  good  of  Poland  and  for  the  good 
of  the  Poles  themselves,  it  is  necessary  that 
your  country  should  remain  ever  united  to  that 
of  the  great  family  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,'* 
and  although  he  had  made  no  changes  in  gov- 
ernment looking  at  all  definitely  toward  auton- 
omy, yet  many  thoughtful  and  intelligent  men 


\ 


268    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

believed  that,  by  the  development  of  her  eco- 
nomic resources  and  by  the  education  of  her 
people,  Poland  in  a  few  years  might  become 
so  powerful  and  so  important  to  Russia  that 
political  concessions  might  be  won  from  the 
Emperor,  of  far  more  permanence  and  value 
than  could  be  expected  from  a  revolution. 

Unfortunately  they  formed  but  a  small 
minority  in  the  Kingdom.  The  majority  were 
still  in  favor  of  a  revolution  for  independence, 
but  were  divided,  as  in  1830,  as  to  the  methods 
of  revolution  and  the  character  of  the  constitu- 
tion which  was  to  follow  success. 

In  i860  as  in  1830,  the  Whites  desired 
more  careful  preparation  and  the  assurance  of 
European  assistance  before  they  revolted,  and 
favored  an  aristocratic  constitution,  with  pow- 
ers practically  confined  to  the  great  landed 
proprietors,  while  the  Reds  stood  for  imme- 
diate action  and  an  extremely  democratic  form 
of  government.  The  revolutionary  element  in 
each  group  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the 
political  exiles  who  flocked  back  to  Warsaw  as 
a  result  of  the  amnesty.  The  majority  of  these 
exiles  were  Whites,  though  some  of  them,  the 
younger  men  chiefly,  by  contact  in  Paris  or 
other  places  of  their  exile  with  the  great  demo- 
cratic movement  going  on  all  over  Europe,  had 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    269 

become  democratic,  and  were  violently  opposed 
to  revolution  under  aristocratic  leadership. 
With  Louis  Mieroslawski  at  their  head  they 
formed  out  of  the  various  democratic  elements 
in  the  Kingdom  a  strong  party,  which  at  once 
began  a  campaign  of  "unarmed  agitation," 
whose  object  was  to  arouse  popular  feeling 
against  the  Russians  by  constant  appeals  to 
the  Polish  national  spirit,  and  thus  prepare  for 
open,  united  revolution.  For  this  purpose  they 
celebrated  with  great  ostentation  the  anni- 
versaries of  Polish  national  heroes,  especially 
those  most  obviously  connected  with  complete 
Polish  independence.  The  Polish  national 
hymn  was  constantly  sung  in  the  churches; 
Russians  were  ostracized  socially,  and  attempts 
were  constantly  made  to  put  Russian  officials  in 
the  wrong,  to  goad  them  to  violence,  and  then 
point  to  it  as  characteristic  Russian  conduct. 

Of  this  campaign  of  intrigue  and  underground 
revolutionary  activity  the  Agricultural  Society 
soon  became  the  center.  Formed  under  the 
special  sanction  of  the  Emperor  himself,  for 
the  purpose  of  enlisting  the  best  talent  of  the 
country  in  the  very  vital  task  of  improving  the 
agricultural  conditions  in  the  Kingdom,  count- 
ing among  its  members  the  most  illustrious  and 
most  enlightened  men  in  the  country,  it  was  the 


270    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

one  place  where  all  parties  came  together  in  a 
common  interest,  and  the  Party  of  Action  re- 
solved to  use  it  for  its  own  ends.  , 

The  majority  of  the  original  three  or  four 
hundred  members  were  conservatives,  most  of 
them  Whites,  but  many  of  them,  like  the  Presi- 
dent, Count  Andrew  Zamoyski,  were  opposed 
to  political  opposition  to  Russia,  and  relied  on 
economic  and  social  progress  to  regenerate 
their  country,  and  few  of  them,  probably,  fa- 
vored the  transformation  of  their  society  into 
a  political  organ.  In  spite  of  this  fact,  however, 
the  Society  by  1861  had  a  membership  of  four 
thousand  drawn  from  Galicia,  Posen,  and  the 
Western  Provinces  as  well  as  from  the  Kingdom 
and  was  so  identified  with  disaffection  that  the 
Government  at  Petersburg  ordered  its  dissolu- 
tion. Just  before  this  took  place,  however,  the 
Society,  knowing  that  its  days  were  numbered, 
resolved  to  mark  its  passing  by  issuing  a  plan 
for  the  settlement  of  the  land  question  ex- 
tremely liberal  to  the  peasants.  As  has  been 
shown  in  previous  chapters,  the  condition  of 
the  peasants  and  their  relations  with  the  landed 
proprietors  was  one  of  the  great  evils  in  Old 
Poland,  and  conditions  had  altered  little  by 
i860. 

Napoleon,  by  the  law  of  1807,  had  indeed 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    271 

made  the  serfs  personally  free,  but  they  had 
received  no  land  along  with  their  freedom,  and 
were  therefore  still  in  an  economic  bondage  to 
their  old  masters,  in  some  respects  worse  than 
the  old  slavery.  The  Polish  peasant,  therefore, 
had  no  love  for  his  proprietor,  and  no  interest 
in  joining  a  revolution  to  give  him  more  power. 
On  the  contrary,  he  saw  in  Russian  rule  his  sole 
ray  of  hope.  Alexander  II  had  already  freed  the 
Russian  serfs,  and  his  Government  was  at  that 
very  moment  at  work  on  a  similar  plan  for 
Poland  —  which  the  peasants  knew  full  well. 
Yet  the  fact  remained  that  the  success  of  the 
projected  revolution  depended  upon  peasant 
support,  and  the  great  question  for  the  upper 
class  was  how  to  get  it.  They  knew  it  could  be 
won  only  through  concessions  regarding  the 
land,  and  they  resolved  to  offer  through  the 
Agricultural  Society  a  plan  for  peasant  owner- 
ship, far  more  liberal  than  anything  to  be  ex- 
pected from  the  Russian  Government,  and  to 
offer  it  first.  In  a  word,  they  meant  to  outbid 
the  Government  for  peasant  allegiance. 

The  plan  did  not  succeed.  The  peasants  un^ 
derstood  the  motives  of  the  "reformers,"  dis- 
trusted their  good  faith,  and  remained  loyal  to^ 
the  Russian  Government. 

The  policy  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  toward 


272    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

the  Poles  during  these  years  was  lenient  and 
considerate  in  the  extreme.  He  continued  his 
policy  of  gradually  liberalizing  the  Polish 
Government,  in  spite  of  the  hostile  attitude 
shown  in  the  unarmed  agitation.  In  March  of 
1 86 1  the  Council  of  State  for  Poland,  abolished 
by  the  Emperor  Nicholas  in  1841,  was  rees- 
tablished ;  all  the  remnants  of  military  rule  in 
Poland  were  abolished,  and  the  whole  country 
came  under  civil  administration.  The  most 
important  branches  of  the  Polish  administra- 
tion were  made  quite  distinct  from  the  Rus- 
sian, —  as  for  instance,  the  Post-Office,  Public 
Works,  and  Highways,  —  and  with  very  few 
exceptions  all  civil  officials  were  Poles.  By  1863 
there  were  scarcely  a  dozen  Russians  in  official 
positions  in  the  whole  Kingdom.  Local  self- 
government  also  was  introduced,  and  a  national 
system  of  education  started,  the  development  of 
which,  together  with  all  educational  matters, 
was  put  into  the  hands  of  the  revived  Polish 
Commission  on  Education  and  Religion,  abol- 
ished in  1839.  These  concessions  were  not  only 
very  important  in  themselves,  but  full  of  hope 
for  the  future,  as  showing  the  direction  in  which 
the  Emperor's  policy  was  moving. 

Perhaps  it  was  natural,  however,  that  these 
measures  should  seem  of  little  importance  to 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    273 

the  majority  of  Poles.  A  profound  hatred  and 
distrust  of  Russia,  bred  of  the  long  and  bitter 
tyranny  of  Nicholas  I,  made  it  difficult  for  them 
to  see  anything  but  weakness  and  self-interest 
in  Russian  reforms.  The  experience  of  the 
Congress  Kingdom  had  convinced  them  that  a 
Russian  might  grant,  but  would  never  observe, 
a  constitution,  and  that  what  one  emperor  gave 
the  next  would  take  away.  But  even  had  they 
been  able  to  get  more  or  less  liberal  institutions 
from  Russia,  and  some  reasonable  guaranty  of 
their  permanence,  it  would  not  have  satisfied 
them.  They  wanted  nothing  less  than  complete 
independence  from  a  detested  foreign  govern- 
ment, and  the  reunion  of  all  the  territories  of 
their  ancient  state. 

Under  such  conditions  a  revolt  against  Russia 
was  inevitable  sooner  or  later,  as  even  the  Poles 
most  opposed  to  such  a  revolt  recognized.  All 
they  could  hope  to  do  was  to  put  it  off  until  such 
time  as  the  people  were  better  prepared  for  it 
materially,  and  more  united  in  their  ideas  as  to 
what  should  follow  it. 

The  Marquis  Wielpolski  was  one  of  those 
who  held  the  view  noted  above,  and  as  Chief 
Minister  of  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  who 
was  made  Governor  of  Poland  in  1862,  had 
the  opportunity  to  be  of  great  service  to  his 


274    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

country,  and  save  her  from  a  fatal  mistake,  by 
uniting  all  the  moderates  in  a  party  of  opposi- 
tion to  immediate  revolution.  Unfortunately, 
however,  he  was  not  only  unable  but  unwilling 
to  form  a  party  or  to  cooperate  with  any  one. 
Haughty  and  self-sufficient,  he  stood  alone,  dis- 
liked and  distrusted  by  all.  Keenly  intelligent 
as  well  as  deeply  patriotic,  he  had  come  to  be- 
lieve that  an  independent  Poland  was  an  im- 
possibility, and  he  saw  in  union  with  Russia, 
the  other  great  Slav  state  of  the  North,  her  best 
chance  of  strength  and  freedom  in  the  future. 
But  he  was  no  statesman ;  he  understood  ideas 
better  than  men.  He  failed  to  see  that  his  policy 
needed  friends  and  could  not  succeed  by  being 
forced  upon  the  Poles  arbitrarily;  and  in  1863, 
in  attempting  to  prevent  immediate  revolution, 
he  himself  committed  the  very  act  which  pre- 
cipitated it. 

The  law  in  force  in  Poland  from  181 5  to  1859 
put  the  selection  of  military  recruits  in  the 
hands  of  the  police,  with  the  result  that  re- 
cruiting had  been  the  method  by  which  the 
Government  got  rid  of  politically  inconvenient 
subjects.  In  1859  a  new  law  had  been  passed, 
abolishing  this  method  of  choice  and  substitut- 
ing the  fairer  and  more  usual  choice  by  lot.  Since 
the  passage  of  the  law,  however,  no  conscrip- 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    275 

tion  had  been  necessary,  and  the  new  law  had 
thus  never  been  used.  In  1862  the  army  needed 
renewal,  and  a  conscription  was  ordered.  The 
Marquis  Wielpolski  resolved  to  ignore  the  new 
law,  and  use  the  old  system  which,  by  draft- 
ing into  the  Russian  army  all  the  youth  of  the 
Revolutionary  party,  would  destroy  its  power. 
To  prevent  agitation  the  lists  were  kept  secret, 
and  the  conscripts  were  seized  by  the  police  at 
dead  of  night,  and  hurried  away  to  the  frontiers 
without  warning.  Three  days  later  the  whole 
country  was  in  revolution. 

But  the  Poles  had  no  independent  organiza- 
tion as  in  1830,  no  army,  and  no  money.  They 
could  carry  on  guerrilla  warfare  only,  and  were 
bound  in  time  to  be  crushed  by  Russia's  su- 
perior numbers  and  organization.  Their  early 
successes  were  due  to  the  fact  that  Russia  had 
not  expected  the  revolt  —  Wielpolski  had  as- 
sured the  Emperor  that  nothing  would  happen 
—  and  the  Russian  troops  were  scattered.  Their 
only  real  hope  was  in  outside  aid,  which  did  not 
come.  France  and  England  protested,  indeed, 
but  were  unwilling  actively  to  intervene.  Rus- 
sia, seeing  that  they  did  not  mean  to  act,  and 
supported  by  Prussia,  who  regarded  the  crush- 
ing of  the  Poles  as  a  matter  of  vital  importance 
to  her,  put  down  the  rebellion  with  a  strong 


276    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

hand.  In  this  policy  the  Emperor  had  the  sup- 
port of  a  unanimous  public  opinion,  Russians 
of  all  parties  being  deeply  stirred  by  events  in 
Poland,  especially  by  the  rejection  on  the  part 
of  the  Revolutionary  Central  Committee  of  the 
Emperor's  offer  of  amnesty  (March  31,  1863), 
when  the  Polish  cause  was  clearly  hopeless,  and 
by  a  manifesto  from  this  same  Revolutionary 
Government,  in  which  they  declared  that  they 
would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  the 
conquest  of  the  Western  Provinces  from  Russia 
and  the  cession  to  them  of  Galicia  and  Posen 
by  Austria  and  Prussia. 

/  There  is  no  doubt  at  all  that  the  Revolution 
jof  1863  was  a  colossal  mistake,  and  that  its 
(failure  was  followed  by  the  most  unfortunate 
/consequences  for  the  Poles.  But  deplorable  as 
I  failure  was,  success  might  have  been  more  de- 
/  plorable  still.  Nothing  but  anarchy  could  have 
I  resulted  from  the  success  of  a  people  funda- 
I  mentally  divided.  Reds  and  Whites  were  hope- 
lessly at  odds  in  their  ideas  of  a  government 
for  Poland.    The  Reds  would  never  have  ac- 
cepted a  Czartoryski,  for  example,  as  king, 
while  the  magnates  and  great  proprietors  would 
never  have  consented  to  be  governed  by  a  con- 
stitution dictated  by  the  Reds  and  based  on 
democratic  principles;  and  the  peasants  held 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    277 

aloof  from  both  parties,  knowing  the  demo- 
crats too  little  to  trust  them,  and  the  nobles  far 
too  well. 

Meanwhile  in  Austrian  and  Prussian  Poland 
and  the  little  Republic  of  Cracow,  conditions 
since  1815  had  been  almost  equally  discour- 
aging. The  provisions  of  the  Final  Act  of  the 
Congress  of  Vienna  remained  practically  a  dead 
letter.  The  Powers  were  not  interested  in  carry- 
ing them  out,  and  the  Poles  were  so  divided  that 
they  were  nowhere  strong  enough  to  make 
effective  protest. 

The  Republic  of  Cracow  received,  indeed,  a 
constitution,  guaranteed  by  Austria,  Russia, 
and  Prussia,  according  to  which  the  govern- 
ment was  carried  on  by  a  Senate  of  twelve 
members,  and  a  Representative  Assembly, 
meeting  each  year  to  consider  legislation.  Three 
permanent  Residents,  representing  the  three 
guaranteeing  Powers,  had  ** supervision"  over 
the  Government.  These  Residents  became  very 
soon  the  real  governing  power,  and  when,  after 
1835,  Cracow  became  the  center  of  secret  so- 
cieties and  revolutionary  agitation,  the  Resi- 
dents, by  mutual  agreement,  suspended  the 
Constitution  and  governed  directly  unfil  1846. 
In  that  year,  after  an  unsuccessful  attempt  at 
independence,  Cracow  was  annexed  to  Austria. 


278    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

In  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Posen,  between  1815 
and  1830,  a  sincere  attempt  was  made  to  con- 
ciliate the  Poles.  The  Grand  Duchy  was,  in- 
deed, incorporated  in  the  Kingdom  of  Prussia, 
but  the  Polish  nationality  and  the  Polish  lan- 
guage were  given  official  recognition,  and  the 
administrative  officials  were  either  Poles  or 
were  chosen  for  their  Polish  sympathies.  A 
Diet  was  established  in  1822,  with  the  privilege 
of  laying  grievances  before  the  king.  From  the 
economic  point  of  view  the  administration  be- 
tween 1815  and  1840  resulted  in  nothing  but 
good.  The  serfs  were  freed  and  made  into 
peasant  proprietors;  roads  were  built,  better 
methods  of  agriculture  encouraged,  industries 
introduced,  and  all  with  true  Prussian  thor- 
oughness and  efficiency.  The  peasants,  among 
whom  there  was  almost  no  Polish  national  feel- 
ing, accepted  these  reforms  gladly,  and  were 
fairly  contented  with  their  Prussian  rulers ;  but 
the  Polish  nobles  and  the  Roman  Catholic 
clergy  were  irreconcilable  from  the  first.  They 
were  in  constant  and  close  communication  with 
the  revolutionists  in  Austrian  and  Russian 
Poland,  and  twelve  thousand  of  them  crossed 
the  border  into  the  Congress  Kingdom  and  took 
part  in  the  Revolution  of  1830.  It  was  this 
fact  that  decided  the  Prussian  Government  to 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    279 

change  its  policy  to  one  of  severe  repression  and 
Germanization,  which  continued  for  ten  years. 
Under  Frederick  William  IV,  who  came  to  the 
throne  in  1840,  it  was  somewhat  relaxed,  with 
the  result  that  political  agitation  at  once  began, 
and  prepared  the  country  to  take  part  in  the 
Revolution  of  1845.  In  that  year,  under  the 
leadership  of  Mieroslawski,  the  head  of  the 
Polish  revolutionaries  in  Paris,  a  National  Gov- 
ernment was  set  up  in  Cracow,  which  called 
upon  all  Poles  everywhere  to  rise.  The  arrest 
and  imprisonment  of  Mieroslawski  in  Posen  pre- 
vented the  participation  of  the  Grand  Duchy  in 
the  rising,  and  kept  the  country  quiet  until 
1848.  That  year  was  marked  by  successful 
popular  risings  all  over  Europe. 

In  Berlin  the  liberal  populace  rose,  demand- 
ing the  constitution  promised  them  in  181 5,  but 
never  granted.  The  King,  alarmed  at  the  pros- 
pect of  civil  war,  and  believing  apparently  that 
the  insurgents  were  far  stronger  than  they  really 
were,  granted  everything  asked  of  him,  in- 
cluding a  general  amnesty  for  all  political  pris- 
oners. 

In  Posen  a  national  committee,  headed  by 
Mieroslawski,  who  was  released  from  prison  by 
the  amnesty,  set  up  a  Polish  provisional  gov- 
ernment for  the  Grand  Duchy,  and  demanded 


280    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

from  the  King  an  autonomous  administration. 
Here  also  the  King  yielded,  but  the  Prussian 
troops  in  Posen  and  the  German  inhabitants 
refused  to  accept  the  King's  concessions,  and  in 
an  orgy  of  cruelty  that  offended  even  the  Ger- 
man officials,  they  quickly  reduced  the  country 
to  submission. 

From  1848  to  1863  the  Government  in  Posen 
was  conservative  and  arbitrary,  but  not  partic- 
ularly severe.  The  sympathies  of  the  Prussian 
liberals  were  with  the  Poles,  and  the  Poles  were 
represented  in  the  Prussian  parliament,  where 
they  aired  their  grievances  and  through  pub- 
licity maintained  a  measure  of  good  govern- 
ment for  their  country.  The  revolutionary 
propaganda  was  constantly  carried  on  in  Posen 
as  in  the  Congress  Kingdom,  and  along  very 
much  the  same  lines.  There  was  constant  com- 
munication between  the  revolutionists  of  both 
countries,  and  Posen  made  all  her  preparations 
to  take  part  in  the  Revolution  of  1863.  But 
Bismarck,  now  at  the  head  of  the  Prussian 
Government,  had  no  intention  of  allowing  this 
to  take  place,  and  a  wall  of  troops  along  the 
frontier  kept  Posen  out  of  it,  while  Russia  and 
Prussia  reduced  the  Congress  Kingdom  to  sub- 
mission. 

In  Galicia,  between  1816  and  i860,  conditions 


THE   REVOLUTION  OF   1863     281 

were  little  better.  While  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  an  Austrian  nation  or  race,  —  the  Austrian 
state  being  made  up  of  many  nationalities,  the 
majority  of  them  Slav,  and  the  Germans  form- 
ing a  minority,  and  a  lessening  minority,  of 
the  population,  —  yet  the  dynasty  is  German, 
and  until  1866  the  German  minority  was  the 
dominating  influence.  The  Austrian  ruler  also 
was  head  of  the  Germanic  Confederation,  and 
as  such  was  the  official  leader  of  Germany. 
Austria,  therefore,  regarded  herself  as  a  Ger- 
man state,  and  carried  on  a  policy  of  German- 
ization  toward  the  Poles  that,  until  1848  cer- 
tainly, was  quite  as  rigorous  as  that  of  Prussia. 

The  Polish  rising  of  1846  was  suppressed  with 
special  severity  in  Galicia,  the  Austrian  Gov- 
ernment inciting  the  Ruthenian  serfs  to  rise 
against  their  Polish  landlords,  and  race-war 
with  all  its  horrors  was  thus  made  the  weapon 
with  which  Polish  nationalism  was  beaten.  In 
1848  Austria  freed  the  serfs,  and  gave  them 
their  land  free  of  all  redemption  dues,  a  reform 
which  they  regarded  as  a  reward  for  their  serv- 
ices in  1846,  and  which  resulted  in  binding 
them  closely  to  Austria. 

After  1848  Prussia  became  Austria's  serious 
rival  for  German  leadership,  and  by  i860  the 
conflict  which  was  to  decide  between  them  was 


282    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

imminent.  Austria  was  forced  to  recognize  the 
possibility  of  her  defeat  in  this  struggle,  and  to 
meet  the  new  situation  she  inaugurated  a  new 
policy  in  her  empire;  namely,  the  neutraliza- 
tion of  German  influence  by  the  development 
of  the  Slavs.  Germanization  stopped,  and  each 
Slav  nation  was  allowed  a  certain  measure  of 
self-government,  and  was  left  free  to  develop 
along  its  own  lines,  within  the  limits  of  imperial 
unity. 

As  trouble  with  Russia  over  the  Balkan 
situation  loomed  large  on  the  Austrian  horizon, 
the  support  of  the  Poles  of  Galicia  was  of  spe- 
cial importance,  and  accordingly  a  constitution 
was  granted  to  the  Kingdom  of  Galicia  and 
Lodomeria  in  February,  1861,  which  contained 
more  liberal  concessions  than  were  granted  to 
any  other  people. 

With  the  tacit  consent  of  the  Austrian  Gov- 
ernment, Galicia  became  the  headquarters  of 
the  Polish  revolt  against  Russia  in  1863.  ^In 
1864  the  Revolutionary  National  Government 
at  Warsaw  tried,  most  foolishly  and  with  total 
misunderstanding  of  the  situation,  to  stir  up  a 
revolt  in  Galicia.  As  a  result,  the  Constitution 
was  withdrawn  for  a  year,  and  the  country  put 
under  martial  law,  with  its  attendant  severi- 
ties; but  even  so,  Galicia  suffered  far  less  than 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1863    283 

the  other  Polish  territories  from  the  revolu- 
tion, and  was  in  a  much  better  position,  both 
economically  and  as  regards  its  political  rela- 
tions, than  either  of  the  others,  when  peace  was 
restored. 


CHAPTER  IX 

POLAND  SINCE    1 863 

I.  Prussian  Poland 

For  eight  hundred  years  the  Germans  have 
been  fighting  the  Slavs  on  their  eastern  border 
and  colonizing  their  conquered  lands;  the  Mark 
of  Brandenburg  came  into  existence  for  this 
purpose,  the  Knights  of  the  Sword  and  the 
Teutonic  Order  carried  on  the  struggle  for 
nearly  five  hundred  years,  and  when  the  Bran- 
denburg Hohenzollerns  succeeded  to  the  Duchy 
of  Prussia  they  simply  inherited  the  age-old 
task  of  maintaining  and  extending  German  in- 
fluence on  the  Vistula.  The  method  of  carrying 
out  this  task  has  been  the  same  throughout  the 
centuries.  The  "peaceful  penetration"  of  Ger- 
man traders  and  of  subsidized  German  settlers 
has  prepared  the  way  for  conquest  and  after 
conquest  the  steady  pressure  of  a  German  ad- 
ministration and  continued  colonization  have 
made  the  Slav  territories  one  after  another  com- 
pletely German.  The  Kingdom  of  Prussia, 
which  grew  out  of  the  union  of  the  Duchy  with 
the  Brandenburg  Electorate,  became  great  and 
powerful  by  the  Prussianization  of  conquered 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  285 

peoples,  chiefly  Slavs,  and  the  partitions  of 
Poland  formed  only  one  step,  though  it  was  a 
long  step,  in  this  process.  Expansion  at  the 
expense  of  the  Slavs  is  thus  a  basal  fact  in  Prus- 
sian history,  the  fact  to  which  she  owes  her 
greatness  and,  hence,  her  leadership  in  mod- 
ern Germany.  Under  Prussian  leadership  this 
policy  of  '*  Drang  nach  Osten"  has  become  an 
imperial  policy  and  one  with  which  the  future 
as  well  as  the  past  existence  of  the  Empire  is 
very  closely  bound  up. 

It  was  a  disappointment  to  Prussia  that  the 
Warsaw  region,  the  region  of  the  Middle  Vis-»^ 
tula,  which  was  hers  by  the  partition  of  1795, 
but  was  lost  during  the  Napoleonic  wars,  was 
not  restored  to  her  in  18 15.  Her  control  of  this 
part  of  the  great  Polish  waterway  would  not 
only  be  an  important  economic  advantage,  but 
would  give  her  a  strategic  frontier.  In  Russian 
hands  this  region  forms  a  great  salient  into 
Prussian  territory.  An  autonomous  Poland 
under  Russian  rule  would  carry  forces  friendly 
to  Russia  into  the  heart  of  Germany,  and  would 
inevitably  in  time  result  in  the  amalgamation 
of  much  if  not  all  of  Prussian  Poland  with  this 
autonomous  state.  Friendship  between  Russia 
and  Poland  would  thus  be  fatal  to  German 
policy,  and  for  this  reason  the  Prussian  Gov- 


286    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

ernment  has  been  the  steady  and  consistent 
opponent  of  Polish  freedom,  both  in  Russia  and 
at  home.  In  Russia  she  has  used  all  her  dip- 
lomatic skill  to  keep  up  bad  feeling  between 
Russians  and  Poles,  and  at  home  she  has 
adopted  a  policy  of  ruthless  and  systematic 
Germanization.  The  necessity  for  this  policy 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  Germans  as  a  race 
are  not  very  tenacious  of  their  nationalism. 
They  succumb  rather  easily  to  alien  civiliza- 
tions with  which  they  come  in  contact  and 
among  the  Poles  were  gradually  becoming 
Polonized;  or  if  not  they  were  boycotted  and 
ostracized  by  their  Polish  neighbors  until  they 
were  forced  to  leave,  and  were  replaced  by 
Poles.  The  result  of  this  process  was  that  the 
Poles  were  gradually  bringing  under  Polish 
influence,  not  only  the  land  of  their  old  King- 
dom, but  also  regions  hitherto  wholly  German, 
and  the  purpose  of  the  Government  was  to 
counteract  this  development  and  restore  Ger- 
man control. 

For  the  first  few  years  after  1863  the  absorp- 
tion of  Prussia  in  the  events  leading  to  empire 
in  1870  necessitated  leaving  the  Poles  much  to 
themselves,  but  shortly  after  1871  the  Polish 
policy  began  to  stiffen  under  Bismarck,  who 
believed  that  Polish  nationalism  was  "success- 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  287 

fully  undermining  the  foundations  of  the  Prus- 
sian state."  The  use  of  the  Polish  language  was 
forbidden;  towns  and  streets  received  German 
names;  letters  and  telegrams,  addressed  in 
Polish  to  Polish  places,  were  not  delivered; 
very  few  Poles  were  retained  in  public  office, 
and  those  few  were  obliged  to  Germanize  their 
names;  officers  and  employes  of  the  state  were 
forbidden  to  live  in  houses  owned  by  Poles,  and 
in  the  schools  even  religion  was  taught  in  the 
German  language. 

But  though  it  was  enforced  with  much  rigor 
for  fifteen  years,  this  policy  did  not  achieve 
its  purpose.  The  great  economic  and  espe- 
cially the  great  industrial  forces  which  had  trans- 
formed Russian  Poland  ^  had  also  been  at  work 
here,  but  the  transformation  had  been  more 
rapid  as  a  result  of  effective  and  intelligent 
government  assistance.  Here  as  there  by  1885 
a  new  Polish  middle  class  and  an  industrial 
proletariat  had  come  into  existence  and  had 
become  enthusiastic  supporters  of  Polish  na- 
tionalism, which,  thus  reinforced,  had  become 
a  far  more  serious  danger  than  the  old  nation- 
alism of  the  Polish  nobility.  Everywhere  the 
Germans  continued  to  lose  to  the  increasing 
numbers,  wealth,  and  intelligence  of  the  Poles. 
»  See  pp.  23,  24. 


288    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

The  best  evidence  of  this  is  that  in  1885  and 
1886  it  was  thought  necessary  to  introduce 
more  drastic  measures. 

In  1885  thirty  thousand  Slav  immigrants 
were  expelled  from  the  Polish  provinces,  and 
in  1886  the  famous  Colonization  Commission 
{Anseidelungs  Kommission)  was  founded.  The 
Commission  bought  out,  with  funds  supplied 
by  the  Government,  the  Polish  nobles  who  were 
willing  to  sell  their  land,  and  the  land  thus  ac- 
quired was  sold  only  to  Germans,  and  only  on 
condition  that  it  was  not  to  be  resold  to  Poles. 
At  first  the  Poles  were  very  ready  to  sell,  but 
after  they  saw  the  results  and  realized  the  pur- 
pose of  the  law,  they  not  only  kept  what  land 
they  had,  but  formed  societies  to  buy  up  all  the 
land  on  the  market  and  sell  it  to  Poles,  and 
thus  prevent  the  Commission  from  getting  hold 
of  it.  Poles  also,  who  sold  to  the  Commission, 
were  regarded  as  traitors  to  their  nation,  with 
the  result  that  the  Commission  found  it  dif- 
ficult to  get  land  while  competition  forced  the 
price  up  to  a  prohibitive  figure. 

The  failure  of  its  policy  only  drove  the  Gov- 
ernment to  still  more  drastic  methods.  In  1904 
a  law  was  passed  forbidding  the  erection  of 
buildings  in  Poland  without  the  permission 
of  the  Commission.  Only  when  the  Polish  pro- 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  289 

prietor  agreed  to  dispose  of  his  land  to  Germans 
was  permission  to  build  given  him,  with  the 
result  that  the  Poles  could  rarely  sell  their  land 
to  Poles,  as  few  people  want  to  buy  land  on 
which  they  cannot  build.  The  final  step  in  this 
process  was  taken  when  in  1908  the  Polish  Ex- 
propriation or  Dispossession  Act  was  passed, 
for  the  compulsory  purchase  of  what  land  the 
Commission  wanted. 

And  how  did  the  Poles  meet  this  last  and 
most  hostile  of  all  attacks  on  their  national 
existence?  They  simply  settled  on  the  nearest 
Polish  estate,  or  they  went  to  the  cities,  where 
they  swelled  the  numbers  of  that  great  indus- 
trial class  which  was  steadily  forcing  the  Ger- 
mans out  of  all  the  small  business  positions.  In 
both  cases  they  have  become  more  ardently 
anti-Prussian  than  ever.  The  boycott,  com- 
plete separation,  and  the  ostracism  of  the  Ger- 
mans and  of  all  things  German  have  been  their 
only  means  of  opposition;  but  their  use,  pur- 
sued relentlessly  and  unitedly  by  the  Poles, 
though  resulting  in  persecution,  has  united  all 
classes  as  they  were  never  united  before  and  has 
also  beaten  the  Germans.  Economically  the 
Commission  has  improved  the  country  enor- 
mously. It  has  broken  up  large  estates,  re- 
claimed waste  land,  built  model  villages,  and 


290    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

established  a  prosperous  German  peasantry 
which  presents  a  sharp  contrast  to  the  estates 
of  the  poor  Polish  peasant,  with  no  government 
behind  him.  But  these  poor  Polish  peasants 
are  holding  their  own,  and  learning  all  the  time 
from  their  German  enemies.  Not  only  are  they 
more  prolific  than  the  Germans,  but  they  never 
lose  their  nationality ;  whereas,  as  has  been  said 
above,  the  German  is  rather  easily  denational- 
ized. In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  Government 
to  keep  them  apart,  he  often  marries  a  Polish 
wife  and  comes  under  the  powerful  influence  of 
the  Catholic  priesthood.  If  he  does  not  com- 
pletely succumb  to  the  influences  surrounding 
him,  at  any  rate  his  children  do.  They  are 
Catholics  and  Poles  from  birth.  In  self-defense 
they  Polonize  their  name,  and  make  a  point 
of  forgetting  that  they  have  any  German  blood. 

Prince  von  Biilow,  Imperial  Chancellor  from 
1900  to  1908,  in  his  recent  book  ^  claims  that 
the  Government's  policy  is  only  incidentally 
and  negatively  anti-Polish.  **The  aim  of  Prus- 
sian policy  in  the  Eastern  Marches  has  always 
been  to  reconcile  subjects  of  Polish  nationality 
to  the  Prussian  state  and  the  German  nation. 
Nothing  is  further  from  the  aims  of  our  policy 
.  .  .  than  a  fight  against  the  Poles;  its  object  is 

*  Prince  Bernhard  von  Bulow,  Imperial  Germany,  p.  306. 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  291 

to  protect,  maintain,  and  strengthen  the  Ger- 
man nationality  among  the  Poles.  Consequently 
it  is  a  fight  for  German  nationalism."  What- 
ever the  motive,  the  result  is  pretty  clearly  a 
war  of  extermination,  as  the  Prince  admits 
when  he  says:  "In  the  struggle  between  na- 
tionalities one  nation  is  the  hammer  and  the 
other  the  anvil.  One  is  the  victor  and  the  other 
the  vanquished.**  He  admits  also  that  up  to 
date  (1914)  the  policy  has  failed,  but  he  believes 
that  steady  pressure  unflinchingly  applied  for 
many  years  will  ultimately  attain  their  end. 

And  after  ultimate  success  what?  The  Poles 
in  Posen  as  well  as  in  the  Kingdom  have  long 
believed  that  the  object  of  Germany *s  "pro- 
tectorate" in  Turkey  and  her  close  and  domi- 
nating alliance  with  Austria  is  expansion  into 
the  east  of  Europe,  where,  in  the  empires  of 
Turkey  and  Russia,  vast  stretches  of  unde- 
veloped country,  sparsely  populated  by  back- 
ward peoples,  offer  a  great  field  for  economic 
enterprise  as  well  as  for  the  spread  of  that  Ger- 
man "culture"  which  Germany  regards  it  as 
her  mission  to  carry  to  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth.  Dmowski  states  the  situation  very 
well  when  he  says,  "Just  as  it  was  the  fall  of 
Poland  that  gave  Prussia  special  importance 
in  Europe  and  made  possible  her  leadership  in 


292    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

modern  Germany,  so  the  renascence  of  Poland 
as  a  political  factor  would  mean  an  end  to 
the  domination  of  Prussia  in  the  German  Em- 
pire." ^  Prussia  understands  this  perfectly  and 
it  makes  any  compromise  between  herself 
and  her  Poles  impossible. 

The  significance  of  the  struggle  is  also  per- 
fectly understood  by  the  Poles.  They  are  the 
outposts,  planted  right  in  the  enemy's  country, 
of  the  great  army  of  all  Slavdom  lined  up  to 
battle  for  its  existence  against  the  advancing 
might  of  Germanism.  But  by  the  very  fact  of 
their  position  they  can  only  retard,  not  def- 
initely check,  the  German  advance.  That 
must  be  the  task  of  the  lines  farther  back  in 
Russian  Poland,  where  the  real  strength  of  the 
Slav  cause,  if  strength  it  has,  must  be  found. 

2.  Russian  Poland 

Immediately  the  Revolution  of  1863  was 
crushed,  the  Russian  Government  put  into 
operation  in  Poland  the  plan  of  agrarian  reform 
which  it  had  been  about  to  introduce  when  the 
revolution  broke  out.  The  new  law  gave  the 
peasants  entire  personal  freedom,  nearly  half 
of  the  arable  land  of  the  nobility  in  freehold,  and 
the  right  to  continue  to  use  the  forests  and  the 
*  Ramon  Dmowski,  La  Question  Polonaise^ 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  293 

pastures  of  their  former  masters;  on  the  other 
hand,  they  were  expressly  freed  from  any  and 
all  obligation  to  cultivate  the  lands  remaining 
in  the  possession  of  the  nobility.  The  punish- 
ment of  the  nobility  for  rebellion  was  one  pur- 
pose of  the  new  law,  but  its  chief  object  was  to 
perpetuate  the  old  antagonism  between  nobles 
and  peasants  (whom  the  Russians  feared  com- 
mon misfortune  might  bring  together),  and 
attach  the  peasants  permanently  to  Russia.     * 

A  new  system  of  local  administration  intro- 
duced at  the  same  time  put  the  management 
of  all  village  affairs  into  the  hands  of  a  village 
assembly  composed  exclusively  of  peasants, 
even  the  szlachta,  many  of  whom  were  econom- 
ically of  the  peasant  class,  being  excluded  to- 
gether with  the  magnates  and  the  clergy.  In 
the  district,  which  was  composed  of  a  group 
of  villages,  the  governing  body  was  an  elected 
council  on  which  all  landowners  were  repre- 
sented. Here  the  peasants  sat  side  by  side  and 
shared  power  with  their  former  owners.  The 
object  of  these  arrangements  was  to  keep  the 
peasant  independent  and  protect  him  from  the 
strongly  anti- Russian  influence  of  the  Polish 
nobility  and  the  Roman  Catholic  priesthood. 

But  the  Polish  peasant  was  not  able  to  use  the 
independence  thus  offered  him.  Accustomed  to 


294     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

being  led,  and  deprived  of  his  traditional  leaders, 
the  nobles  and  the  clergy,  he  turned  almost 
inevitably  to  the  representatives  of  the  central 
government  in  his  district,  and  very  soon,  in 
spite  of  a  law  expressly  forbidding  it,  these  rep- 
resentatives were  in  full  control  of  the  peasant 
communes  or  villages,  and  with  the  tacit  con- 
sent of  the  central  authorities  were  carrying 
out  a  drastic  and  oppressive  policy  of  Russi- 
fication. 

The  Polish  revolution  had  marked  a  crisis  in 
the  policy  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  II.  He 
had  been  for  some  time  under  strong  reaction- 
ary influences,  and,  discouraged  by  the  failure 
of  many  of  his  liberal  plans,  he  was,  even  before 
1863,  quite  undecided  about  carrying  them 
further.  The  revolution  precipitated  his  deci- 
sion and  a  reactionary  policy  slowly  but  surely 
made  itself  felt  throughout  his  Empire.  In 
Poland  it  meant  that  the  policy  of  Russifica- 
tion  proceeded  apace.  The  use  of  the  Polish 
language  in  any  public  place  was  Absolutely 
forbidden ;  in  business,  church,  and  school  only 
Russian  was  permitted;  newspapers  could  be 
printed,  religious  instruction  could  be  given, 
only  in  Russian;  and  only  those  persons  es- 
pecially authorized  by  the  Russian  central 
authorities  could  teach  in  the  schools. 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  295 

Alexander  II  was  assassinated  in^i88i,  and 
his  son  Alexander  III  who  succeeded  him  was 
a  far  more  throughgoing  reactionary  than  his 
father.  He  was  in  fact  a  Slavophil  of  the  old 
extreme  Russophil  type.  His  ideal  was  the  re- 
duction of  every  one  in  the  Empire  to  one 
pattern,  Russian  in  nationality,  Orthodox  in 
religion,  and  in  politics  wholly  and  humbly  sub- 
missive and  obedient  to  an  autocratic  emperor. 
The  alien  and  the  Orthodox  were  especially  the 
objects  of  his  severity,  and  in  Poland  the  church 
and  the  school  were  made  the  instruments  of  a 
Russifying  policy  so  persistent,  so  unbending, 
and  so  ruthless  that  it  defeated  its  own  ends. 
On  the  surface  the  policy  was  a  success,  but 
underneath  was  an  intense  though  silent  hatred 
of  Russia  and  all  her  works,  which  was  easily 
made  the  basis  for  a  Polish  national  revival. 
The  sympathies  of  intelligent  Russians  were 
wholly  with  the  Poles  during  this  period;  the 
better  class  of  Russian  bureaucrat  refused  to 
serve  ift  Poland,  and  the  governors-general 
themselves  saw  the  evil  and  folly  of  such  ex- 
treme measures  and  advised  a  milder  policy,  but 
without  avail.  Contrary  to  liberal  hopes  the 
accession  of  Nicholas  II  in  1894  made  no  change 
in  policy.  It  was  not  until  the  Revolution  of 
1904,  which  followed  the  defeats  of  Russia  in 


296    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

the  Japanese  war,  wrung  reluctant  concessions 
everywhere  from  a  powerless  Government  that 
the  situation  in  Poland  improved. 

In  the  Western  Provinces,  where  only  the 
upper  class  and  a  small  proportion  of  the  peas- 
ants were  Polish  and  the  mass  of  the  popula- 
tion either  Lithuanian,  White  Russian,  or  Little 
Russian,  the  attempt  was  made,  not  only  to 
stamp  out  all  traces  of  revolution,  but  to  stamp 
out  the  Polish  people  themselves.  Whole  Pol- 
ish villages  were  burned  and  the  inhabitants 
sent  to  Siberia;  lands  and  fortunes  of  Polish 
nobles  were  confiscated.  Catholic  churches  were 
closed,  as  were  also  all  Polish  theaters,  and  the 
Polish  language,  either  written  or  spoken,  was 
forbidden  in  all  public  places.  With  the  object 
also  of  replacing  Poles  byTciissians  as  rapidly 
as  possible  the  Government  in  1865  limited 
very  strictly  the  amount  of  land  that  could  be 
purchased  in  this  region  by  persons  of  Polish 
origin.  The  local  authorities  in  carrying  out  the 
law  made  religion  the  test  of  nationality,  and 
Catholic  peasants,  whatever  their  parentage, 
found  it  extremely  difficult,  when  it  was  not 
impossible,  to  get  the  land  they  needed  and  were 
financially  well  able  to  buy. 

As  the  Western  Provinces  were  fundamen- 
tally Russian  and  had  been  merely  superficially 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  297 

Polonized  during  the  few  centuries  of  Polish 
rule,  and  particularly  as  many  of  the  inhabit- 
ants were  Orthodox  in  religion,  the  Russifica- 
tion  policy  was  largely  successful  in  this  region. 
The  task  was  more  difficult  where  the  people 
were  Lithuanian  by  race  and  Catholic  by  reli- 
gion, or  where,  as  in  certain  places,  Poles  formed 
the  majority  of  the  population.  But  even  there, 
at  least  superficially,  the  policy  succeeded,  and 
no  one  passing  through  the  country  would  have 
thought  of  its  being  Polish. 

The  Little  Russians  of  the  southeast  were 
most  of  them  Uniates,  that  is.  Catholic  in 
creed  and  government,  but  Orthodox  in  rite. 
The  Government  of  Nicholas  I  abolished  the 
Uniate  Church  in  the  Western  Provinces  and 
forced  the  Uniates  of  Lithuania  and  the 
Ukraine  into  the  Orthodox  Church.  Persecu- 
tion of  the  most  cruel  and  persistent  sort, 
however,  failed  to  "convert**  many,  who  re- 
mained secretly  Catholic  and  became  more 
strongly  Polish  than  ever.  In  classifying  in- 
dividuals any  one  whose  ancestors  had  been 
Uniate  was  classed  by  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment as  Orthodox,  even  though  the  family 
had  since  become  entirely  Roman  Catholic. 
Such  persons  were  counted  among  those  "con- 
verted'* to  Orthodoxy! 


298     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

But  in  spite  of  repression  and  persecution  a 
new  and  better  Poland  came  into  existence  in 
the  fifty  years  following  the  Revolution  of 
1863.  Such  progress  was  made  in  economic  and 
social  directions  that  the  old  Poland  of  1863, 
then  as  in  1772  a  backward,  undeveloped 
country  of  nobles,  priests,  and  serfs,  gave  place 
to  a  thickly  populated,  industrially  prosperous, 
thoroughly  modern  and  democratic  country. 
The  land  legislation  of  1864,  which  broke  up 
the  great  estates,  was  the  beginning  of  peasant 
prosperity,  and  the  measures  of  Alexander  III, 
who  did  much  in  all  parts  of  his  Empire  to 
encourage  and  make  possible  progress  in 
agriculture  and  industry,  helped  them  further. 
The  peasants  made  money,  saved  it,  and  were 
able  to  buy  more  land  even  at  the  high  prices 
at  which  the  nobles  held  it,  so  that  when  the 
present  war  broke  out  in  19 14  considerably 
more  than  half  the  land  was  held  by  small 
peasant  or  szlachta  proprietors.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  Kingdom  more  than  doubled  between 
1863  and  1914  and  a  large  proportion  of  the 
increase  went  to  the  towns,  where  it  formed, 
with  the  Jews,  a  great  industrial  proletariat. 
Young  Poles  of  the  upper  class  also,  barred 
from  public  life  after  1863,  turned  to  business 
with  all  their  energies,  and  have  played  a  lead- 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  299 

ing  part  in  the  great  commercial  and  industrial 
development  that  has  gone  on  all  over  the 
Russian  Empire  during  the  last  half-century. 
There  was  thus  formed  in  Poland  a  native 
middle  class,  prosperous,  intelligent,  and  pro- 
gressive, destined  to  be  a  factor  of  enormous 
importance  in  the  Poland  of  the  future. 

These  two  classes  feel  very  differently  about 
Russia  from  the  older  generation  of  Poles,  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  industrial  Poland  finds 
her  chief  market  in  Russia  and  is  therefore 
economically  dependent  upon  her.  The  indus- 
trial classes  in  Poland  have  therefore  long  since 
ceased  to  favor  an  independent  Polish  state,  as 
independence  would  inevitably  mean  a  hostile 
high  tariff  in  Russian  markets  which  would  be 
their  ruin. 

There  are  other  reasons,  also,  why  the  old 
ideal  of  their  fathers,  of  an  independent  Polish 
state  as  the  only  adequate  expression  of  Polish 
nationalism,  has  failed  to  commend  itself  to 
great  numbers  of  modern  Poles.  First  of  all  is 
its  utter  impracticability.  The  Poles  of  1830 
and  1863  were  theorists  and  dreamers.  Di- 
vided, undisciplined,  and  unprepared,  they 
flung  their  feeble  armies  against  the  might 
of  Russia  with  sublime  patriotism  and  self- 
sacrifice,  it  is  true,  but  with  a  blind  disregard 


300    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

of  facts  and  possibilities.  The  Poles  of  the 
twentieth  century  are  modern  business  men 
accustomed  to  direct  dealing  with  hard  facts 
and  priding  themselves  on  clear  thinking.  They 
have  come  to  see  that  not  only  is  revolution 
against  Russia  practically  impossible,  but  that 
it  is  also  inadvisable.  They  are  no  less  patri- 
otic than  their  fathers,  and  no  less  tenacious  of 
their  nationalism,  but  they  recognize  that  under 
twentieth-century  conditions  the  only  way  to 
preserve  their  nationalism  is  to  **rest  it 
against  the  great  Slav  Empire  of  Russia";  in 
other  words,  to  create  a  free,  autonomous 
Poland  within  the  Russian  Empire  and  sup- 
ported by  Russian  friendship. 

This  idea  is  not  a  new  one  in  Poland.  As  has 
been  shown  in  previous  chapters  there  has  been 
ever  since  1815  a  small  group  of  practical 
politicians  whose  idea  was  to  cooperate  with 
Russia  as  the  only  possible  way  of  securing 
that  minimum  of  local  autonomy  essential  to 
any  national  development.  Francis  Lubecki 
and  the  Marquis  Wielpolski  were  notable  rep- 
resentatives of  this  type  of  thought,  but  like 
others  of  the  same  type  they  were  always  un- 
popular, partly,  perhaps,  because  in  a  nation  of 
theorists  and  dreamers  they  were  hard-headed 
workers  for  practical  results,  and  were  willing 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  301 

to  use  whatever  means  came  to  hand  to  obtain 
their  ends ;  partly  also  because  they  were  aris- 
tocrats and  as  such  not  trusted  by  the  masses 
of  the  people.  After  1863  this  group,  under  the 
name  of  the  Party  of  Conciliation,  made 
attempts  in  all  three  divisions  of  Poland  to 
carry  out  its  policy,  but  without  any  success 
except  in  Galicia  where  the  circumstances 
were  particularly  favorable  to  it.  In  Russian 
Poland  it  was  not  until  new  leaders  with 
thoroughly  democratic  ideals  had  taken  up  the 
policy,  and  until  a  radical  change  in  the  Eu- 
ropean situation  of  both  Russia  and  Poland  had 
taken  place,  that  the  thought  of  the  country 
turned  in  this  direction.  In  1902  the  National 
Democratic  Polish  Party,  having  fought  both 
Socialists  and  Conciliators  and  spent  nearly 
twenty  years  in  educational  work,  openly  pro- 
claimed that  the  fundamental  idea  of  the 
Conciliators,  the  autonomy  of  Poland  based 
on  Russian  friendship,  was  the  goal  for  which 
it  was  working.  To  understand  this  change 
some  knowledge  of  the  intellectual  history  of 
these  years  is  necessary. 

The  new  generation  growing  up  after  1863 
was  dominated  by  the  resolve  to  know  the  facts 
about  themselves  and  their  past.  They  studied 
and  analyzed  the  history  of  the  old  Poland 


302    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

which  their  fathers  had  glorified  and  ideaHzed, 
and  they  found,  in  her  own  institutions  and 
traditions,  the  cause  of  that  bitter  class-hatred 
and  disunion  which  had  caused  her  fall.  They 
saw  that  it  was  serfdom,  Jesuit  intolerance,  and 
aristocratic  privilege  that  had  ruined  Poland, 
and  they  set  themselves  the  task  of  building  up 
a  new,  united  Poland  on  the  solid  foundations 
of  civil  equality,  free  thought,  and  democratic 
principles  of  government.  In  1886  the  Polish 
League  (known  after  1895  as  the  National 
League)  was  formed  to  teach  this  new  demo- 
cratic nationalism  to  the  peasants,  since  the 
first  and  most  necessary  part  of  the  new  task 
was  to  win  over  the  peasants  whom  the  habits 
of  centuries  of  serfdom  had  kept  entirely  aloof 
from  public  life.  By  teaching  them  their  own 
history  and  literature  the  League  tried  to 
awaken  their  national  feeling,  to  make  them 
realize  that  they  too  were  Poles,  that  Poland's 
interests  were  their  interests,  and  thus  make 
them  intelligent  and  patriotic  supporters  of 
the  new  nationalism.  From  1886  to  1896  the 
League  worked,  from  necessity,  as  a  secret 
society  and  under  many  difficulties,  but  it  had 
the  support  and  cooperation  of  many  of  the 
country  nobility  and  the  policy  of  the  Russian 
Government  had  predisposed  the  peasants  to 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  303 

any  anti-Russian  propaganda.  By  1897  it  was 
so  well  supported  that  it  abandoned  its  secrecy 
and  came  out  publicly  as  the  National  Demo- 
cratic Polish  Party,  under  the  leadership  of 
M.  Ramon  Dmowski,  who  almost  since  its 
foundation  had  directed  its  work. 

From  1897  to  1904  the  party  waged  an  un- 
resting campaign  against  the  repressive  policy 
of  the  Government.  The  peasant  communes 
were  the  centers,  the  peasants  the  most  active 
supporters  of  the  party,  and  during  these  years 
it  became  abundantly  clear  that  the  age-old 
gulf  between  nobles  and  peasants  was  being 
bridged.  By  the  end  of  1903  the  party  had  in 
its  ranks  most  of  the  gentry  and  middle  class, 
practically  all  the  peasants,  and  a  large  section 
of  the  working  men,  and  when  in  the  elections 
to  the  first  Russian  Duma  the  party  captured 
all  the  seats  assigned  to  both  the  Kingdom  and 
the  Annexed  Provinces,  it  could  justly  claim 
to  represent  the  views  of  the  majority  of  Poles. 

During  these  critical  years  of  Poland's  in- 
ternal regeneration  a  great  change  in  the 
European  situation  of  both  Poland  and  Russia 
had  come  about  as  a  result  of  the  establishment 
of  the  German  Empire  in  1870.  Before  1870 
the  Poles,  like  other  Europeans,  had  regarded 
the  menace  of  Russian  aggression  on  the  west 


304    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

as  the  greatest  danger  to  western  Europe.  An 
independent  Poland  would  have  a  very  real 
European  importance  as  a  barrier  against  such 
aggression,  and  it  was  on  this  fact  that  the 
Poles  based  their  hopes  of  European  assistance 
in  their  revolutions.  After  1870,  however,  the 
danger  of  German  pressure  toward  the  east 
became  a  far  greater  danger  than  Russian 
pressure  toward  the  west  and  one  which  Poland 
shared  with  Russia  and  tl^e  whole  Slav  world. 
By  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  Russia 
was  the  only  Slav  state  which  was  not  keenly 
alive  to  the  danger  for  Slavdom  in  the  growth 
of  the  German  influence  in  the  east  of  Europe. 
The  Slavs  saw  in  the  close  union  of  Austria  and 
Germany  a  far  more  dangerous  enemy  to  their 
cause  than  their  old  traditional  enemy  Turkey, 
because  of  the  far  greater  intelligence  and 
efficiency  of  the  new  foe.  The  union  of  all  Slavs 
against  advancing  Germanism  they  felt  to  be 
their  first  and  greatest  duty.  In  this  battle 
against  Germanism  the  Poles  form  the  first  line 
of  defense.  Not  only  is  their  country  the  most 
western  of  all  Slav  lands  and  thus  geographi- 
cally directly  in  contact  with  Germany,  making 
their  conquest  the  first  step  in  German  advance, 
but  their  civilization,  also,  is  the  only  one  that 
has  withstood  the  eastward  march  of  Ger- 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  305 

manism.  To  make  it  strong  still  to  withstand 
and  ultimately  to  conquer  became  the  great 
aim  of  Polish  nationalism,  the  goal  toward 
which  the  Poles  regard  it  as  their  mission  to 
Europe  and  to  Slavdom,  to  struggle  with  all 
the  forces  of  their  being. 

But  to  struggle  effectively,  they  need  to 
develop  themselves  both  economically  and 
politically  to  the  highest  possible  point,  and 
for  this  they  need  autonomy  in  government 
and,  at  the  same  time,  Russian  friendship. 
The  Russian  attempts  at  government  in  Poland 
have  never  met  the  most  primary  economic 
and  social  needs  of  the  people.  They  have,  on 
the  contrary,  brought  about  an  internal  condi- 
tion little  short  of  social  anarchy,  thus  ex- 
posing the  country  to  economic  conquest  by 
Germany,  which  is  her  first  step  toward  politi- 
cal conquest.  The  desire  of  the  Poles  for  auton- 
omy is  thus  prompted,  not  merely  by  national 
pride,  but  by  the  imperative  necessity  for  good 
government,  and  government  on  the  lines  of 
least  resistance,  which  will  set  free  the  maxi- 
mum of  national  energy  for  other  purposes.  To 
forget  the  wrongs  and  injustice  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  Russia  in  the  past  and  to  make  peace 
with  her  on  the  basis  which  will  best  serve  their 
common  interests  —  that  is,  autonomy  within 


306    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

the  Empire  —  seemed  to  the  National  Demo- 
crats the  course  dictated  by  the  most  practical 
statesmanship  as  well  as  by  the  highest  patriot- 
ism, and  since  1902  it  is  for  this  reconciliation 
that  they  have  worked. 

Up  to  1 9 14  their  efforts  to  get  the  Russian 
Government  to  see  their  point  of  view  had  been 
wholly  unavailing.  Berlin  had  seen  to  that. 
German  diplomacy  has  worked  unceasingly  to 
keep  up  the  enmity  between  Russia  and  her 
Poles  and  thus  prevent  their  combination 
against  her;  and  as  Russia  has  never  had  either 
a  constructive  Polish  policy  or  even  any  clear 
thought  on  Polish  affairs,  Germany  has  been 
successful.  Russian  Liberals,  indeed,  favored 
the  autonomy  of  Poland,  realizing  that  Ger- 
many alone  benefited  by  the  policy  of  Russifi- 
cation,  but  they  were  themselves  in  opposition 
to  the  Government  and  could  exert  no  influ- 
ence. Another  group  of  Russians  who  warmly 
approved  the  objects  of  the  National  Demo- 
cratic Party  were  the  **Neo-Slavs,*'  who  were 
Pan-Slavists  of  a  new  type.  Their  idea  was 
decentralization  in  government,  local  auton- 
omy for  all  the  various  nationalities  in  the 
Empire,  and  their  federation  on  the  same 
general  lines  as  the  British  Empire.  But  they 
also  had  no  government  influence,  and  it  was 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  307 

not  until  the  defeats  of  Russia  m  the  Japanese 
War  led  to  revolts  at  home  which  resulted  in 
the  calling  of  the  first  Russian  Duma,  that  these 
parties  of  opposition  had  a  chance  to  express 
themselves. 

With  the  opening  of  the  first  Duma  the 
Polish  question  entered  a  new  phase.  The 
Ukrainian  question  had  by  that  time  reached 
a  somewhat  critical  stage  and  was  a  potent 
influence,  perhaps  the  decisive  influence,  in 
drawing  together  into  close  co5peration  the 
Polish  group  or  **Club"  in  the  Duma  and 
the  Russian  National  Democrats  or  ''Cadet 
Party.**  The  Ukrainian  question  as  a  ques- 
tion of  European  importance  originated  in 
Austria  and  its  understanding  necessitates  a 
consideration  of  the  history  of  AustricUi  Po- 
land since  1863. 

3.  Austrian  Poland 

While  Prussia  and  Russia  were  carrying  out  a 
policy  which  meant  practically  a  constant  state 
of  war  between  the  governments  and  their 
Polish  subjects,  the  Austrian  Poles  were  not 
only  on  terms  of  peace  and  friendship  with 
the  Austrian  Government,  but  for  many  years 
acted  as  the  very  pillars  of  the  monarchy. 
.    After  1863  the  Poles  in  Galicia,  like  those  in 


3o8    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Posen  and  the  Kingdom,  definitely  gave  up  the 
idea  of  independence  as  their  national  pro- 
gramme, accepted  the  hard  fact  of  political 
division  and  alien  rule,  and  turned  their  ener- 
gies to  preserving  and  strengthening  their  unity 
as  a  nation  and  their  national  culture  under  the 
three  monarchies.  The  Polish  national  move- 
ment thus  became  a  cultural,  social,  and  eco- 
nomic movement,  not  a  political  one.  Freed 
thus  from  fear  of  a  Polish  insurrection,  and 
having  no  nationalism  to  maintain  at  all  costs 
as  had  Germany  and  Russia,  the  Austrian 
Government  could  afford  to  make  friends  with 
its  Poles,  and  there  were  a  number  of  reasons 
why  their  friendship  was  advantageous. 

In  1866  Austria  was  defeated  in  the  war 
brought  about  by  Prussia  to  decide  the  ques- 
tion, long  contested  between  them,  of  the 
leadership  of  Germany.  Prussia's  victory  meant 
Austria's  exclusion  from  the  new  Germany  of 
1870  and  the  end,  for  the  time  being  anyway, 
of  her  distinctively  German  policy.  She  was 
obliged  to  consider  the  possibility  of  making 
her  Slav  subjects  the  prop  of  her  Empire.  But 
Austria's  Slav  peoples  were,  with  the  single 
exception  of  the  Poles,  all  more  or  less  under 
the  influence  of  the  Pan-Slav  idea  with  Russia 
as  their  leader.  They  were  also  agitating  for  a 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  309 

reorganization  of  the  Empire  on  a  federal  basis 
which  would  give  freedom  to  each  nationality 
to  develop  along  its  own  lines.  The  Austrian 
Government  feared  and  opposed  both  these 
movements  and  found  in  the  Poles  much  the 
same  feelings,  and  consequently,  a  readiness  to 
support  the  Government  —  but  always  at  the 
price  of  concessions  to  them.  The  Pan-Slavism 
of  this  period  was  the  early  Pan- Russian  form 
of  the  movement,  bound  up  with  autocracy  and 
Orthodoxy,  to  which  the  Poles  were  always 
opposed,  because  it  meant  giving  up  their  na- 
tionalism and  their  Catholicism,  which  they 
could  never  do,  and  also  because  it  meant  the 
recognition  of  Russia  as  the  chief  of  Slav 
peoples  which  the  Poles  believed  themselves  to 
be.  Their  objection  to  the  federal  system  of 
government  was  that,  if  they  accepted  it  and 
became  a  part  of  it,  they  would  be  bound  to  the 
Habsburg  monarchy  by  a  bond  which  it  would 
be  difficult  to  break  and  which  would,  there- 
fore, prevent  their  ultimate  political  union  with 
the  rest  of  their  nation  —  that  union  whose 
realization  sometime,  somehow,  is,  and  has 
always  been,  the  deep,  often  hidden,  but  abid- 
ing hope  of  every  Pole. 

They  chose,  therefore,  to  remain  a  people 
apart  and  to  support  the  Government  and  the 


310     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

centralized  system  in  opposition  to  a  form  of 
government  which,  under  happier  circum- 
stances and  different  leadership,  they  would 
have  delighted  to  champion.  But  they  asked 
large  rewards  for  their  support.  When  in  1867 
the  new  constitution  or  Ausgleich  establishing 
the  so-called  Dual  Monarchy  of  Austria- 
Hungary  came  into  existence,  the  Poles  con- 
sented to  support  it  only  in  return  for  very 
important  concessions;  a  special  minister  for 
Galicia  in  the  new  Government,  a  separate 
board  of  education  for  Galicia,  a  greatly  ex- 
tended use  of  Polish  in  the  schools  and  its 
exclusive  use  in  all  branches  of  the  administra- 
tion. 

In  the  Reichsrath,  the  lower  legislative  house 
of  the  new  Government,  the  Poles  had  57 
votes,  which  made  them  often  the  control- 
ling factor  in  giving  the  Government  a  majority, 
and  like  the  Irish  under  similar  conditions, 
they  bought  their  freedom  with  their  votes, 
supporting  the  Government  only  in  return  for 
concessions,  which,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years, 
amounted  to  practically  complete  administra- 
tive autonomy.  By  1873  this  process  was  about 
complete,  and  since  that  date  the  Poles  have 
had  the  administration  of  Galicia  in  their 
hands  and  have  been  able  to  govern  it  in  their 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  311 

own  interests.  It  has  meant  a  great  increase  in 
Polish  national  feeling,  a  revival  of  Polish  cul- 
ture, and  a  considerable  economic  advance, 
especially  in  West  Galicia. 

All  this  has  been,  however,  almost  exclu- 
sively for  the  upper  governing  class,  though  the 
Polish  peasantry  in  West  Galicia  have  shared 
slightly  in  its  benefits.  In  East  Galicia  the 
condition  of  the  peasantry  has  remained  de- 
plorable, and  even  in  West  Galicia  there  has 
been  no  such  economic  reform  as  has  trans- 
formed peasant  conditions  in  Prussian  and 
Russian  Poland.  The  peasants  were  indeed 
emancipated  from  serfdom  and  given  their  land 
after  the  Revolution  of  1848,  but  they  remained 
uneducated  and  economically  backward,  their 
trade  was  hampered  by  artificial  restrictions, 
their  towns  were  small  and  poor,  and  the  Jews, 
just  as  in  Old  Poland,  formed  the  middle  class. 
The  chief  reason  for  the  difference  between  the 
two  parts  of  the  country  and  for  the  poverty 
and  backwardness  of  East  Galicia  was  the  dif- 
ference in  race  between  the  peasants  and  the 
governing  class.  East  Galicia,  the  old  principal- 
ity of  Halisch,  belongs  racially  with  the  Russian 
Ukraine.  Its  people  are  Ruthenians  or  Little 
Russians,  or,  as  they  prefer  to  be  called,  Ukrain- 
ians, and  are  a  part  of  that  great  people  who 


312     BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

with  Kiev  as  their  capital  were  Russia  from  the 
tenth  to  the  fourteenth  century.  Most  of  them 
are  Uniate  by  rehgion  (a  minority  are  Ortho- 
dox) and  have  a  distinct  race-consciousness 
which  during  the  past  seventy-five  years  has 
expressed  itself  in  a  strong  national  movement 
for  the  preservation  of  their  language  and  the 
development  of  their  national  culture.  The 
Poles,  who  form  only  twenty-four  per  cent  of 
the  population,  are  the  large  landowners  and 
the  governing  class,  and,  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  clergy,  have  systematically  oppressed 
the  Ukrainians,  forcing  upon  them  the  use  of 
the  Polish  language,  the  Polish  culture,  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion.  Of  this  aristocratic 
minority  the  Little  Russian  nobles  form  an 
indistinguishable  part.  They  were  completely 
Polonized  soon  after  the  Polish  conquest  of 
Galicia  and  have  been  almost  entirely  un- 
affected by  the  modern  Ukrainian  national 
movement,  which  is  thus  of  necessity  essentially 
a  peasant  and  working  man's  movement.  It 
has  identified  itself  with  Socialism  and  other 
forms  of  radicalism,  but  has  never  lost  its  dis- 
tinctively national  characteristics.  That  the 
Polish  nobles  hated  and  opposed  these  radical 
ideas  as  much  as  she  did  herself  was  one  of  the 
chief  reasons  why  Austria  was  willing  to  turn 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  313 

the  government  of  Galicia  over  to  the  Poles  and 
was  willing  to  pay  for  their  support  in  the 
Reichsrath,  where  the  Liberal  German  majority 
often  seriously  hampered  the  autocratic  policies 
of  the  Government,  as,  for  example,  when  they 
unitedly  opposed  the  annexation  of  Bosnia 
and  Herzegovina  in  1908. 

On  the  other  hand,  opposition  to  Ukrainian 
nationalism  has  been  one  of  the  few  matters 
regarding  which  Poles  and  Russians  were 
agreed.  The  Russian  Government,  in  pursu- 
ance of  its  traditional  Pan-Russian  policy,  has 
always  refused  to  recognize  its  thirty  million 
Little  Russians  as  a  separate  race:  "There 
never  has  been  and  never  will  be  a  Ukrainian 
language  or  nationality"  a  Russian  minister  of 
state  declared  in  1863,  and  Russia  has  labored 
as  steadily  to  Russianize  the  Ukrainians  in  the 
Russian  Ukraine  as  the  Poles  have  to  Polonize 
them  in  Galicia. 

But  in  spite  of  all  these  efforts  the  Ukrainian 
national  movement  has  continued  to  grow,  and 
in  the  last  twenty-five  years  has  become  a 
factor  of  importance  in  European  diplomacy. 
Bismarck  saw  the  possibilities  of  the  movement 
as  a  means  of  opposition  to  Russia,  and  when  he 
succeeded  in  drawing  Austria  away  from  Russia 
and  into  alliance  with  Germany  he  got  her  to 


314    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF. POLAND 

change  her  policy  and  to  take  measures  to  con- 
ciliate her  Ukrainian  subjects.  A  Ukrainian 
University  at  Lemberg,  Ukrainian  schools  in 
East  Galicia  where  the  Ukrainian  language  was 
used  and  Ukrainian  nationalism  openly  culti- 
vated, as  well  as  increasing  toleration  for  the 
Ukrainian  (Uniate)  Church,  were  Austria's 
somewhat  half-hearted  concessions  to  this  new 
policy,  while  politically  she  was  holding  out 
hopes  of  an  autonomous  Ukrainian  state  within 
the  Austrian  Empire  after  the  defeat  of  Russia 
by  Austria  and  Germany  should  have  made 
possible  the  inclusion  of  the  Russian  Ukraine 
in  such  a  state.  Austria  thus  tried  to  use 
Ukrainian  nationalism  in  her  own  interests  just 
as  she  had  so  successfully  used  Polish  nation- 
alism. Her  success  was  sufficient  distinctly  to 
alarm  the  Poles.  By  1891  there  was  a  Ukrain- 
ian group  in  the  Reichsrath,  and  in  the  elec- 
tions of  1895  to  the  Galician  Diet  Ukrainophil 
deputies  only  were  elected  in  all  the  electoral 
districts  {curia)  where  Ruthenians  predomi- 
nated. This  meant  that  many  of  the  so-called 
"Old  Ruthenes,"  who  were  Orthodox  in  reli- 
gion and  inclined  to  cherish  the  Russian  con- 
nection formed  by  their  racial  and  religious 
unity  with  her,  were  won  over  to  the  national 
movement.    Meanwhile,   in  southern   Russia 


POLAND  SINCE   1863  315 

Germany  was  secretly  but  effectively  helping 
on  the  Ukrainian  movement,  and  during  the 
early  years  of  the  twentieth  century,  as  the 
Austro-German  union  grew  closer  and  closer, 
Austro-German  encouragement  of  Ukrainian 
aspirations  became  increasingly  alarming,  not 
only  to  the  Poles,  but  to  many  Russians  as 
well,  and  disposed  them  to  consider  reconcilia- 
tion with  the  Poles  more  seriously  than  ever 
before. 

This  was  the  situation  when  the  first  Russian 
Duma  came  together  in  1906  and  explains  why 
the  Russian  Cadet  Party  was  ready  to  meet 
the  Polish  National  Democrats  halfway,  par- 
ticularly as  the  latter  were  ready  to  abandon 
the  policy  of  Polonizing  the  Ukrainians  of 
Galicia  and  to  let  Russia  absorb  them,  regard- 
ing this  as  preferable  to  the  establishment  of 
a  Ukrainian  state  under  Austro-German  pro- 
tection, which  seemed  to  be  the  alternative. 
The  Archduke  Franz  Ferdinand,  heir  to  the 
Austrian  throne,  was  generally  regarded  as  a 
strong  supporter  of  Ukrainian  autonomy,  and 
it  was  believed  by  the  Poles  that  the  German 
Emperor  had  promised  the  crown  of  the  pro- 
jected Ukrainian  state  to  the  children  of  the 
Archduke's  morganatic  marriage  with  the 
Duchess  of  Hohenberg. 


3i6    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Tfie  Poles  of  Gallcia  quite  naturally  regarded 
these  developments  with  extreme  concern.  In 
spite  of  her  efforts  to  reassure  them,  a  profound 
suspicion  of  Austria's  good  faith  in  the  Ukrain- 
ian matter  opened  a  breach  between  them  that 
widened  rapidly  as  the  Austro-German  alliance 
tightened,  and  Austria's  subservience  to  Ger- 
many awakened  the  gravest  fears  in  regard  to 
her  future  policy  toward  the  Poles  themselves. 
The  result  was  that  some  years  before  the 
present  war  broke  out  the  alliance  of  half  a 
century  between  Austria  and  her  Polish  sub- 
jects was  at  an  end.  A  large  number  of  them 
had  definitely  turned  against  her.  When  the 
assassination  of  the  Archduke  occurred  in 
June,  1 9 14,  they  as  well  as  other  Poles  regarded 
it  with  rejoicing  as  removing  one  of  the  most 
determined  enemies  of  their  nationalism,  and 
when  war  followed  the  assassination  they  were 
ready  to  throw  in  their  lot  with  Russia,  seeing 
in  her  their  only  hope,  even  if  not  a  very  bright 
hope,  of  Slav  freedom. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  POLES  AND  THE  WAR 

The  years  1905  to  19 14  were  years  of  great 
importance  in  the  rapprochement  of  Russia  and 
the  Poles.  In  the  First  Russian  Duma  the 
Polish  National  Democrats  carried  all  the  seats 
assigned  to  the  Kingdom  as  well  as  twenty 
assigned  to  the  Annexed  Provinces.  In  the 
Second  Duma  practically  the  same  thing 
happened  in  the  Kingdom,  but  in  the  Annexed 
Provinces  government  pressure  during  the 
elections  reduced  the  Polish  representatives  to 
twelve.  But  as  they  formed  a  solid  unit  acting 
always  in  harmony  with  the  Polish  Club  from 
the  Kingdom,  the  Poles  still  had  forty-six  votes 
and  complete  solidarity.  It  resulted  from  these 
conditions  that  in  both  Dumas  the  National 
Democrats  were  able  to  bring  before  the  public 
of  Russia  and  Poland,  in  a  way  never  possible 
before,  both  their  ideals  and  their  accomplish- 
ments. 

Their  policy  in  both  Dumas  was  the  same:  to 
form  a  group  apart,  a  strictly  national  group, 
cooperating  with  other  groups  on  the  bcisis  of 


3i8    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

common  interests,  but  never  identifying  them- 
selves with  any  and  acting  always  in  the  inter- 
ests of  Polish  autonomy  and  nationalism.  In 
the  First  Duma,  aside  from  putting  in  a  claim 
to  autonomy  when  they  first  took  their  seats, 
the  Poles  did  not  aggressively  champion  their 
cause.  In  the  Second  Duma  the  Government, 
having  got  control  of  the  revolution,  was  ready 
to  resume  its  reactionary  policy  and  put  itself 
on  record  as  opposed  to  the  recognition  of  alien 
nationalities.  This  obliged  the  Poles  to  come 
forward  with  their  programme  of  an  entirely 
national  regime.  They  also  demanded  the  im- 
mediate introduction  of  the  Polish  language 
into  all  the  Polish  schools.  Just  at  this  time  the 
Prime  Minister  Stolypin  had  a  government 
programme  before  the  Duma  which  the  Duma 
either  had  to  pass  in  its  essentials  or  be  dis- 
solved. They  knew  it  and  were  divided  on  the 
matter  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  so  nearly 
equal  that  the  votes  of  the  Polish  group  would 
decide  the  question.  The  most  important  parts 
of  the  government  programme  were  an  increase 
in  the  army  and  the  approval  of  the  budget. 
The  Poles  voted  for  the  Government  in  regard 
to  the  army,  to  show,  as  they  said,  that  they 
were  ready  to  do  their  duty  by  the  Government, 
but  they  expected  national  recognition  in  re- 


THE   POLES  AND  THE  WAR    319 

turn.  They  also  used  the  occasion  to  say  that 
they  wished  to  see  Russia  with  an  army  strong 
enough  to  enable  her  to  play  an  independent 
part  in  foreign  affairs,  which  meant  that  the 
Poles  were  opposed  to  Russia's  acceptance  of 
German  dictation  in  regard  to  Russian  pol- 
icies. 

On  the  question  of  the  budget  the  Poles 
declared  that  they  regarded  the  budget  as  the 
expression  of  a  system  of  government  opposed 
to  their  national  interests.  But  recognizing  that 
it  could  not  be  immediately  changed,  they 
agreed  to  vote  the  budget  on  condition  that  the 
Government  would  show  its  good  intentions 
by  making  a  public  statement  in  the  Duma 
in  favor  of  the  use  of  Polish  in  the  schools. 
Stolypin,  however,  refused  to  compromise  with 
the  Poles  even  in  order  to  get  his  bills  through, 
but  instead  dissolved  the  Duma  and  ordered  a 
new  election.  In  the  new,  the  Third,  Duma,  the 
Polish  representation  was  reduced  to  a  third  of 
its  former  size  and  thus  made  too  small  to  play 
a  decisive  part.  This  blow,  heavy  as  it  was,  was 
not  without  its  advantages  for  the  Polish  cause. 
It  brought  the  logic,  intelligence,  and  practical 
efficiency  of  the  Polish  programme  into  sharp 
contrast  with  the  entire  absence  of  any  con- 
structive  Polish  policy  on  the  part  of  the 


320    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Russian  Government,  and  considerably  in- 
creased the  respect  felt  for  Polish  aims  and 
methods  among  Russian  Liberals. 

By  this  time  also  the  Pan-Slavists  were 
keenly  alive  to  the  dangers  for  the  Slav  cause 
resulting  from  the  close  union  between  Austria 
and  Germany,  and  also  to  the  great  service  a 
Russo-Polish  understanding  would  do  to  that 
cause,  and  a  series  of  Pan-Slav  Congresses  held 
during  1908  had  for  their  object  the  creation  of 
such  a  union.  At  the  Congress  held  at  Peters- 
burg early  in  the  year  M.  Charles  Kramarz,  the 
Bohemian  leader  of  the  Pan-Slav  movement, 
stated  that  the  most  important  question  of  the 
moment  was  the  reconciliation  of  Russia  and 
Poland  that  they  might  unite  in  the  All-Slav 
struggle  against  Germanism.  The  Polish  repre- 
sentatives replied  to  this  by  the  statement  that 
they  considered  themselves  at  a  turning-point  in 
their  history.  After  many  centuries  of  struggle 
against  peoples  to  the  east  of  them  —  Tartars, 
Turks,  and  Russians  —  they  now  saw  Poland's 
destiny  to  be  to  return  to  the  earliest  of  all  her 
tasks,  the  struggle  against  Germanism.  In  this 
struggle  the  Poles  regarded  all  Slavs  as  their 
allies  and  placed  themselves  at  the  service  of 
the  great  Slav  cause.  ^ 

*  Ramon  Dmowski,  La  Question  Polonaise. 


THE  POLES  AND  THE  WAR    321 

In  the  second  Slav  Congress,  which  met  later 
in  the  same  year  at  Prague,  all  the  Slav  nations 
except  the  Ukrainians  were  represented  and  the 
new  Slav  movement  was  put  on  foot.  At  this 
congress  the  Russian  Neo-Slav  Party  and  the 
Polish  National  Democrats  united  in  common 
opposition  to  the  Ukrainian  movement  and 
took  up  with  zeal  the  persecution  of  these 
unfortunate  people.  This  persecution  took  the 
form  of  a  religious  missionary  movement. 
Russia  sought,  with  Polish  sanction,  to  "con- 
vert'* the  Ukrainian  Uniates  to  Orthodoxy  and 
to  bring  the  "Old  Ruthenes"  who  were  Ortho- 
dox but  Ukrainophil  to  the  support  of  Russian 
political  domination.  Austria  and  Germany 
meanwhile  supported  the  Uniate  Church  and 
dangled  before  the  eyes  of  the  Ukrainians  the 
hope  of  autonomy  and  freedom. 

Up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Great  War  in 
August,  1 914,  the  Russian  Government  re- 
mained firm  in  its  traditional  policy  of  refusing 
to  recognize  any  nationality  but  Russian  as 
existing  within  the  Empire.  When  the  war 
actually  came,  however,  the  Government  made 
a  prompt  decision  to  win  Polish  support  and  on 
August  14,  1914,  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas, 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Russian  arms,  is- 
sued the  following  proclamation:  — 


322    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Poles!  The  hour  has  struck  in  which  the  sacred 
dream  of  your  fathers  and  forefathers  may  find  ful- 
fillment. A  century  and  a  half  ago  the  living  flesh  of 
Poland  was  torn  asunder,  but  her  soul  did  not  die. 
She  lived  in  hope  that  there  would  come  an  hour  for 
the  resurrection  of  the  Polish  Nation  and  for  sisterly 
reconciliation  with  Russia.  The  Russian  Army  now 
brings  you  the  joyful  tidings  of  this  reconciliation. 
May  the  boundaries  be  annulled  which  cut  the 
Polish  Nation  to  pieces!  May  that  nation jreunite 
into  one  body  under  the  scepter  of  the  Rus^an  Em- 
peror. Under  this  scepter  Poland  shall  be  reborn, 
free  in  faith,  in  language,  in  self-government.  One 
thing  only  Russia  expects  of  you :  equal  consideration 
for  the  rights  of  those  nationalities  to  which  history 
has  linked  you.  With  open  heart,  with  hand  fra- 
ternally outstretched,  Russia  steps  forward  to  meet 
you.  She  believes  that  the  Sword  has  not  rusted 
which,  at  Griinewald,  struck  down  the  enemy.  From 
the  shores  of  the  Pacific  to  the  North  Seas,  the  Rus- 
sian armies  are  on  the  march.  The  dawn  of  a  new 
life  is  breaking  for  you.  May  there  shine,  resplen- 
dent above  that  dawn,  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  symbol 
of  the  Passion  and  Resurrection  of  Nations! 

(Signed)  Commander-in-chief  General  Adjutant, 

Nicholas. 


In  Russian  Poland  the  proclamation  met  with 
an  immediate  and  enthusiastic  response.  The 
Polish  Club  in  the  Duma  had  already  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  taken  part  in  that  most 
remarkable  demonstration  of  loyalty,  unique 
in  Russian  history,  when  all  parties  hitherto 


THE  POLES  AND  THE  WAR    323 

irreconcilable  pledged  their  support  to  the 
Government.  The  Club  used  the  occasion  of 
the  proclamation,  however,  again  to  attest  its 
loyalty  and  to  express  its  confidence  in  the 
Government's  good  faith.  On  the  day  following 
the  proclamation  also  the  representatives  of  the 
four  most  important  political  parties  met  in 
Warsaw  and  issued  the  following  statement:  — 

The  representatives  of  the  undersigned  political 
parties  assembled  in  Warsaw  on  16  August,  19 14, 
welcome  the  proclamation  issued  to  the  P»les  by 
His  Imperial  Highness  the  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  Russian  Forces  as  an  act  of  the  foremost  his- 
torical importance,  and  implicitly  believe  that  upon 
the  termination  of  the  war  the  promises  uttered  in 
that  proclamation  will  be  formally  fulfilled,  and  that 
the  dreams  of  their  fathers  and  forefathers  will  be 
realized,  that  Poland's  flesh,  torn  asunder  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  ago,  will  once  again  be  made  whole, 
that  the  frontiers  severing  the  Polish  Nation  will 
vanish. 

The  blood  of  Poland's  sons  shed  in  united  combat 
against  the  Germans  will  serve  equally  as  a  sacrifice 
offered  upon  the  altar  of  her  Resurrection. 
(Signed)  The  Democratic  National  Party. 

The  Polish  Progressive  Party. 

The  Realist  Party. 

The  Polish  Progressive  Union. 

But  there  were  many  Poles  who  took  no  part 
in  this  rallying  to  Russia  and  who,  on  the  con- 
trary, opposed  it  bitterly.    It  is  not  an  easy 


324    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

matter  for  a  people  to  forget  a  long  history  of 
tyranny,  oppression,  and  humiliation  such  as 
the  Poles  have  suffered  at  the  hands  of  Russia, 
and  it  is  not  remarkable  that  there  were  many 
in  the  Kingdom  and  many  more  in  Galicia  who 
could  not  bring  themselves  to  support  her. 
Almost  all  the  Socialists  and  the  members  of 
other  radical  political  organizations  not  counte- 
nanced by  the  Russian  Government,  who  had 
suffered  under  the  heavy  hand  of  the  Russian 
police,  belonged  to  this  group,  as  did  also  many 
Jews.  A  large  number  of  the  Jews  of  Poland 
were  unwilling  to  call  themselves  Poles,  but 
desired  the  recognition  of  their  existence  as  a 
separate  national  as  well  as  religious  group. 
The  National  Democrats  had  opposed  such 
recognition  just  as  strenuously  as  they  had 
opposed  Ukrainian  nationalism,  and  their  anti- 
Semitic  attitude,  as  well  as  the  traditional 
anti-Semitic  attitude  of  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment, had  inclined  the  Jews  to  support  Austria. 
Many  Poles  also  still  clung  to  the  idea  of  an 
immediate  independent  Polish  state  and  be- 
lieved that  their  only  chance  of  getting  it  lay 
in  supporting  Austria,  the  only  power  who 
since  1830  had  given  any  official  recognition  to 
Polish  nationalism. 

During  the  Balkan  wars  the  Independence 


THE  POLES  AND  THE  WAR.    325 

groups  both  in  Galicia  and  in  the  Kingdom, 
seeing  that  the  greater  war  was  coming,  pre- 
pared for  it.  Old  organizations  for  military 
training,  some  of  them  in  existence,  secretly  if 
not  openly,  since  1876,  took  on  new  life,  and 
new  ones  for  the  same  purpose  came  into  being. 
Their  object  was  the  creation  of  a  Polish  mili- 
tary organization  quite  separate  and  distinct 
from  those  of  any  of  the  ruling  governments. 
Such  an  organization,  wherever  it  fought, 
would  remind  the  world  of  Poland's  existence 
as  a  nation  and  prepare  the  way  for  its  official 
recognition  after  the  war.  The  plans  had  been 
matured  and  the  officers  trained  in  Galicia,  but 
the  leaders  counted  on  getting  the  greater  part 
of  their  recruits  from  Russian  Poland,  where 
the  slowness  of  mobilization  and  the  lack  of  effi- 
ciency in  the  system  made  it  far  easier  to  escape 
mobilization  orders  than  in  either  Austria  or 
Prussia.  As  soon  as  war  was  declared,  there- 
fore, a  "Secret  National  Government"  was 
formed  in  Warsaw,  where  on  August  3,  1914* 
notices  were  posted  calling  on  the  Polish  nation 
to  rise  against  Russia  and  join  the  revolution- 
ary army  coming  from  Galicia.  On  August  5, 
the  first  section  of  this  "  army  "  left  Cracow  and 
under  the  leadership  of  Joseph  Pilsudzki,  a 
Russian  subject,  crossed  the  border  into  Kielce, 


326    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

where,  in  the  interval  between  the  strategic 
retreat  of  the  Russian  armies  to  their  first 
prepared  Hnes  and  the  arrival  of  the  armies  of 
Austria-Hungary,  the  independence  of  Poland 
was  proclaimed  and  publicly  celebrated.  The 
Polish  volunteers  who  had  escaped  Russian 
mobilization  were  organized  into  a  "Polish 
Legion"  which  joined  the  armies  of  the  Central 
Powers  and  took  part  in  their  first  advance  on 
Warsaw. 

f  In  Galicia,  where  all  the  political  parties  were 
in  touch  with  the  "Secret  National  Govern- 
ment" in  Warsaw,  the  influence  of  these  events, 
together  with  the  proclamation  of  the  Austrian 
Government  promising,  with  German  coop- 
eration, to  restore  "Liberty  and  Independ- 
ence" to  Poland,  seemed  to  have  destroyed  all 
the  Russophil  tendencies  so  obvious  before  the 
war.  Germany  made  no  official  promises,  but  it 
was  freely  stated,  and  generally  believed  in 
Galicia  that  the  Kaiser  had  unofficially  prom- 
ised a  restored  Poland  under  a  Habsburg 
prince,  possibly  the  Archduke  Charles  Stephen, 
whose  two  daughters  are  both  married  to  Poles 
connected  with  the  old  Polish  royal  house  of 
Jagiello  —  one  to  Prince  Jerome  Radziwill  and 
the  other  to  Prince  Alexander  Olgierd  Czarto- 
ryski.    For  a   time   these   influences  seemed 


THE  POLES  AND  THE  WAR    327 

decisive  and  it  looked  as  if  the  Galician  Poles 
would  side  solidly  with  Austria.  On  August  16, 
the  day  following  the  Grand  Duke's  procla- 
mation, all  the  Polish  groups  in  the  Galician 
Diet  and  in  the  Austrian  Reichsrath  held  a 
conference,  where  they  passed  a  unanimous 
resolution  to  support  Austria  and  appointed  a 
** Supreme  National  Committee"  to  raise  le- 
gions, to  succeed  the  **  Secret  National  Govern- 
ment" of  Warsaw  as  the  representative  of  the 
cause  of  Polish  independence,  and  to  form  after 
the  war  the  "nucleus  of  the  Polish  State." 

In  spite  of  this  unanimity  the  East  Galician 
section  of  the  committee  was  from  the  first 
suspected  of  treachery  by  the  Ukrainians  be- 
cause of  the  presence  among  its  members  of 
several  men  who  before  the  war  had  been  dis- 
tinctly and  conspicuously  pro-Russian.  Their 
suspicions  were  justified  when  after  the  Russian 
occupation  of  Lemberg  the  East  Galician  legion 
disbanded  and  was  found  never  to  have  taken 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Austria,  and  East 
Galicia  proclaimed  itself,  through  its  Pan- 
Polish  newspapers,  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
Russian  occupation.  Perhaps  its  "treachery" 
was  the  only  method  by  which  any  Polish  or- 
ganization could  get  into  existence  to  fight 
anywhere. 


328    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Having  thus  thrown  in  their  lot  with  Russia, 
the  vital  question  then  was  whether  Russia 
would  keep  faith  and  grant  the  liberty  she  had 
promised.  For  a  time  it  looked  very  doubtful. 
There  was  no  change  in  the  old  autocratic 
methods  of  government  in  Russian  Poland  and 
the  new  Russian  governor  of  Galicia  inaugu- 
rated a  Russifying  policy  which  caused  intense 
disappointment  and  led  to  vigorous  protest 
both  in  the  press  and  in  the  Duma.  To  Russia's 
credit  be  it  said  the  situation  improved  very 
much  in  a  short  time.  The  bureaucrats  in 
control  of  the  administrative  machinery  were 
entirely  opposed  to  the  new  policy,  and  with 
powerful  influences  behind  them  refused  to 
make  any  change  until  they  were  sure  of  both 
the  determination  of  the  Government  and  the 
good  faith  of  the  Poles.  But  they  were  obliged 
finally  to  give  way,  and  even  those  who 
had  criticized  most  freely  admitted  later  that 
Russia  was  doing  all  that  could  be  expected 
under  very  difficult  circumstances. 

On  the  other  side  Austria  had  rewarded  the 
services  of  her  Polish  legions  by  officially  rec- 
ognizing them  as  combatants  in  a  note  to 
the  neutral  Powers  in  October,  19 14.  But  the 
terrible  sufferings  of  the  Poles  during  the 
German  invasion  and  occupation  —  sufferings 


THE  POLES  AND  THE  WAR    329 

perhaps  greater  than  anything  this  most  terri- 
ble of  wars  has  caused  elsewhere,  even  in 
crucified  Belgium  —  roused  all  the  old  Polish 
antagonism  to  Germany  and  increased  it  a 
thousand  fold,  while  the  dominance  of  Germany 
over  Austria  has  convinced  even  those  most 
friendly  to  Austria  that  nothing  more  can  be 
expected  from  her. 

Meanwhile  the  wholesale  destruction  of  the 
Poles  during  the  repeated  invasions  and  retreats 
of  the  contending  armies  across  their  country 
has  raised  the  very  grave  question  whether  there 
will  be  a  Polish  nation  or  the  materials  for  a 
Polish  state  after  the  war.  The  American  rep- 
resentative of  the  Trans-Atlantic  Food  Fund 
claims  that  most  of  the  Poles  under  six  and 
over  sixty  years  of  age  have  died  during  the 
war.  As  the  majority  probably  of  those  who 
survive  are  living  in  concentration  camps,  with 
insufficient  food  and  under  other  bad  hygienic 
conditions,  it  is  almost  inevitable  that  a  large 
proportion  of  them  also  will  die. 

If  any  considerable  number  of  the  Polish 
people  are  still  alive  when  the  end  of  the  war 
finally  comes  and  a  congress  meets  to  arrange 
the  terms  of  peace,  it  seems  almost  certain  that 
national  freedom  will  reward  their  sufferings 
and  crown  the  hopes  of  many  qentyri^s.    But 


330    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

just  what  territories  will  go  to  form  the  new 
state  the  congress  alone  can  decide.  It  is  quite 
improbable,  however,  that  much  more  than 
the  Kingdom  of  1815  will  be  included.  Un- 
doubtedly there  are  Poles  not  a  few  who  dream 
of  a  revival  of  the  old  Polish  Empire  including 
Lithuania,  Little  Russia,  White  Russia,  and 
West  if  not  East  Prussia,  but  no  such  revival  is 
within  the  realm  of  practical  possibilities,  nor 
indeed  would  it  be  anything  but  a  disadvantage 
to  the  Poles  themselves.  The'  argument  of 
nationalism  which  gives  Poland  herself  her 
chief  claim  to  freedom  is  entirely  against  it,  and 
the  argument  from  history  is  a  weak  one.  The 
union  between  the  old  Kingdom  of  Poland  and 
the  Grand  Duchy  of  Lithuania  with  its  Russian 
provinces  was  never  so  close  or  so  whole- 
hearted as  its  creators  desired  or  its  official 
terms  made  it  appear,  and  its  duration  was  too 
brief  to  make  any  change  in  the  national  senti- 
ments of  the  great  masses  of  the  population. 
From  the  practical  point  of  view,  also,  the 
revival  of  a  Polish  Empire,  even  if  it  excluded 
East  and  West  Prussia,  would  yet,  even  be- 
fore the  war,  have  meant  the  inclusion  of  a 
dangerously  large  non-Polish  population  with 
all  its  attendant  religious  complications.  Since 
the  war  has  decimated  the  Polish  population. 


THE  POLES  AND  THE  WAR    331 

the  chances  of  Polish  nationalism  holding  its 
own  in  the  midst  of  so  large  an  alien  population, 
even  granting  the  latter's  inevitable  depletion 
by  the  war,  would  be  slight  and  the  chances 
of  ultimate  German  control  greatly  enhanced. 
Neither  the  Poles  nor  the  Allies  can  afford  to 
take  the  risk. 

The  creation  of  an  independent  Polish  state 
seems  also  at  present  a  somewhat  remote  possi- 
bility. Even  if  such  a  state  were  limited  to  the 
boundaries  of  the  Kingdom  of  181 5,  where  the 
Poles  formed  before  the  war  the  vast  majority 
of  the  population,  it  is  doubtful  if  it  would  be 
a  success.  The  division  of  the  Poles  between 
Russia  and  Austria  in  the  present  war  is  the 
result,  not  of  the  accident  of  government 
merely  or  chiefly,  but  of  radical  differences  of 
feeling  and  of  policy  among  the  Polish  people. 
It  shows  that  the  internal  divisions  so  charac- 
teristic of  Old  Poland  in  a  measure  still  exist  and 
will  exist  for  some  time  in  the  future.  Splendid 
as  her  progress  has  been,  Poland  is  not  yet 
sufficiently  regenerated  to  be  an  independent 
state.  Her  best  chance  of  a  safe  future  lies 
within  the  Russian  Empire.  That  the  Russian 
bureaucracy,  German  in  origin,  in  tradition, 
and  containing  a  large  German  element  in  its 
personnel,  the  last  stronghold  of  Germanism  in 


332    BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  POLAND 

Russia,  will  not  outlast  the  present  war,  is  the 
opinion  of  all  well-informed  observers  of  Rus- 
sian conditions.  A  liberal,  middle-class  influ- 
ence is  almost  certain  to  follow  the  war,  and 
under  such  a  regime  Poland  will  be  secure  in 
her  autonomy  and  able  to  educate  and  prepare 
herself  for  a  possible  independence  in  a  brighter 
future. 


THE  END 


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BIBLIOGRAPHY 

There  is  no  detailed  general  history  of  Poland  in 
English. 

MoRFiLL,  W.  R.,  Poland  (Stories  of  the  Nations 
Series,  1893),  is  a  good  brief  account  through  1863. 

Bain,  R.  N.,  Slavonic  Europe  (1908),  is  somewhat 
more  detailed  and  is  especially  valuable  in  regard  to 
Poland's  relations  with  Russia;  but  ends  with  1796. 

Lelewel,  Joachim,  Histoire  de  Pologne  (1844, 
Paris) ,  is  still  the  best  general  account  accessible  to 
those  who  do  not  read  Polish. 

Ropel,  R.,  and  Caro,  J.,  Geschichte  Polens,  is  al- 
most indispensable  for  the  period  covered  (to  1500). 

Useful  bibliographies  are  appended  to  Morfill's 
Poland;  to  the  very  excellent  article  on  Poland  in 
the  eleventh  edition  of  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica; 
to  the  valuable  chapters  on  Polish  history  in  the 
several  volumes  of  the  Cambridge  Modern  History; 
and  to 

Phillips,  W.  Alison,  Poland  (1915,  New  York), 
which  is  the  best  account  of  the  Polish  question  up 
to  date.  His  account  of  recent  developments  in 
Poland  is  especially  valuable  and  discriminating. 

The  following  are  useful  books,  recently  published 
and  not  included  in  the  lists  referred  to  above :  — 

Lord,  Robert  Howard,  The  Second  Partition  of 
Poland  (Harvard  Historical  Studies,  191 5),  is  the 
only  authoritative  book  on  the  Second  Partition. 

Alma  Tadema,  Laurence,  Poland^  Russia^  and 


336  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

the  War  (London,  19 14),  contains  the  text  of  the 
Grand  Duke  Nicholas's  Proclamation  to  the  Poles, 
and  other  original  material./ 

Dmowski,  Ramon,  La  Question  Polonaise  (Paris, 
1908),  is  an  analysis  of  the  Polish  question  since 
1863  by  the  leader  of  the  Polish  National  Demo- 
crats. 

Steed,  W.  W.,  Phillips,  W.  A.,  and  Hannay,  D., 
A  Short  History  of  Austria-Hungary  and  Poland. 
(London,  1914.) 

Friedlaender,  Israel,  The  Jews  of  Russia  and 
Poland.   (New  York,  19 15.) 

Gardner,  Monica,  Poland:  A  Study  in  National 
Idealism.  (London,  1916.)  An  attempt  to  illustrate 
the  soul  of  the  nation  by  a  study  of  its  literature. 


INDEX 


Act  of  Confederation  (1792), 
223. 

Acts  of  1717,  1733,  1736,  de- 
priving Dissidents  of  politi- 
cal and  civil  rights,  185. 

Agnes,  wife  of  Wladislaus,  23. 

Agricultural  Society,  267-71. 

Albert  of  Hohenzollern,  70,  71, 
80,  145. 

Alexander,  King  of  Poland 
(1501-1506),  66,  70-72. 

Alexander  I,  his  favorable  dis- 
position toward  the  Poles, 
247-49;  prepares  to  reestab- 
lish Poland,  250;  tempera- 
mentally an  autocrat,  254; 
death,  257. 

Alexander  II,  Emperor,  266, 
267,  271,  272,  294,  295. 

Alexander  III,  Emperor,  295, 
298. 

Alexis,  Czar,  143,  158. 

Altmark,  Truce  of  (1629),  137. 

Andrusovo,  Peace  of  (1667), 
147. 

Anjou,  Henry,  Duke  of,  elect- 
ed King  of  Poland,  99,  100; 
limitation  of  his  powers, 
loi,  102;  becomes  King  of 
France,  102;  flees  from  Po- 
land, 102,  103;  deposed 
from  Polish  throne,  103. 

Anne,  daughter  of  Wladislaus, 
wife  of  Ferdinand  of  Habs- 
burg,  82. 

Appeal,  47,  48. 

Army,  Polish,  formed  of 
nobles,  41;  exemption  from 
service  in,done  away  with  by 
Diet  of  1527,  74;  inefficient, 
79;     Stephen's,     107,    108; 


the  "house  militia,"  171; 
improved  after  1788,  20.7. 

Articles  of  Mielnica,  71. 

Assemblies,  local,  of  princi- 
palities, 62, 63.  5eeDietines. 

Astrakan,  106. 

Augustus  II,  King  of  Poland 
(1697-1733),  election  of, 
155;  deposed,  157;  restored 
by  Peter  the  Great,  159; 
death,  161. 

Augustus  III,  King  of  Poland 
(1733-1763).  162-^6,  188. 

Austria,  her  present  attitude 
toward  the  Poles,  xviii; 
a  defense  for  Poland 
against  the  Turks,  83; 
Vienna  rescued  from  the 
Turks,  153-55;  rivalry  with 
France  for  the  Rhine  and 
with  Russia  for  the  Danube, 
160;  opposes  King  Stanis- 
laus, 162;  and  the  Russo- 
Turkish  War,  201;  and  the 
first  partition  of  Poland, 
202;  her  acquisitions  at  the 
third  partition,  236,  237; 
and  Treaty  of  Vienna,  242; 
is  not  a  nation  or  race, 
but  has  regarded  herself 
as  a  German  state,  281; 
and  Prussian  rivalry,  281, 
282;  grants  constitution  to 
Galicia  and  Lodomeria, 
282;  makes  friends  with  the 
Poles  in  Galicia,  307,  308; 
her  Slav  policy  following  the 
War  of  1866,  308-10;  and 
the  Ukranian  question,  314- 
16;  services  of  Polish  legions 
rewarded  by,  in  1914,  328. 


338 


INDEX 


Austrian    intrigues   of    Sigis- 

mund  III,  118-25. 
Austrian  Poland,  307-16. 
Avars,  the,  2. 

Bar,  castle  at,  84;  Confedera- 
tion of,  199. 

Barons,  31. 

Batory,  Stephen,  elected  King 
of  Poland,  103.  5ee  Stephen. 

Batu,  30. 

Beer,  Kaspar,  74. 

Berlin,  279. 

Bettmans,  the,  74,  75. 

Bezadany,  Stanislaus,  92. 

Bialystoic,  242. 

Bishops,  90. 

Bismarck,  280,  286,  313. 

Bohemia,  wars  with  Poland, 
7,  8,  14,  17,  42;  and  Casimir 
III,  46,  64;  becomes  posses- 
sion of  the  House  of  Habs- 
burg,  82,  83. 

Boleslaus  I,  King  of  Poland 
(992-1025),  dispossesses  his 
brothers,  7 ;  aims  to  free  Po- 
land from  the  Empire  and 
unite  Poland  and  Bohemia, 
7,  8;  how  far  successful,  8; 
fails  to  restore  Sviatopolk  to 
throne  of  Kiev,  8;  takes  title 
of  "King,"  9;  desires  inde- 
pendence of  Polish  church, 
9;  and  the  See  of  Gnesen,  9; 
a  great  ruler,  9;  his  internal 
policy,  9,  10;  beloved  by  his 
people,  10;  political  organi- 
zation of  Poland  under,  11- 
13;  had  definite  policy  of 
Slav  union,  19. 

Boleslaus  II  (called  the  Daunt- 
less), King  of  Poland,  15- 
17. 

Boleslaus  III,  King  of  Poland, 
warfare  with  his  neighbors, 
17;  reunites  Silesia  and 
Pomerania  to  Poland,  17; 
tries  to  re-Christianize  the 
people,  17;  divides  Poland 


among  his  four  sons,  18,  20, 
22. 
Boleslaus  IV,  King  of  Poland, 

24.  34- 

Boleslaus  V,  King  of  Poland, 
37. 

Bona,  Queen,  84,  85. 

Boner,  John,  74. 

Boris  Godunov,  132. 

Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  313. 

Brandenburg,  156;  her  designs 
on  Poland,  166;  the  Mark  of, 
284. 

Branicki,  Ksawery,  222. 

Braunsberg,  137. 

Breslau,  the  See  of,  freed  from 
dependence  on  Magdeburg, 
9. 

Briihl,  Count,  163,  165. 

Bulow,  Prince  von,  on  the 
German  policy  in  Poland, 
290. 

Buonacorsi,  tutor  of  John 
Albert,  69,  70. 

Burgesses,  deprived  of  right  to 
hold  land  outside  the  city 
walls,  68;  gradually  de- 
pressed to  level  of  peasant- 
ry, 69. 

Cadet  Party,  307,  315. 
Calvinists,  91. 
Carelia,  134,  159. 
Carlowitz,  Treaty  of   (1699), 

^155- 

Carpathians,  boundary  of  Po- 
land to  the  south,  2,  4,  5. 

Casimir,  son  of  Mieczyslaw  II 
and  King  of  Poland,  13-15. 

Casimir,  son  of  Wladislaus 
and  King  of  Poland,  23-25; 
line  of,  25;  calls  synod  of 
bishops  and  creates  advis- 
ory council,  32,  33;  and 
Dukes  of  Pomerania,  34; 
rules  through  governors,  34. 

Casimir  III  ("the  Great"), 
King  of  Poland,  45-49,  58, 
181. 


INDEX 


339 


Caslmir  IV,  King  of  Poland 
( 1 447-1 492),  xii;  character, 
59 ;  accepts  throne  of  Poland , 
60;  defeats  Teutonic  Order 
with  help  of  the  Prussian 
League,  60,  61 ;  his  struggle 
with  the  nobles,  61-63;  alli- 
ance with  King  of  Bohemia, 
64;  joins  league  against 
Turks  and  Tartars,  65. 

Casimir,  John,  prophecy  of, 
as  regards  the  fall  of  Poland, 
xiv. 

Castellans,  the,  13. 

Castles,  13. 

Catharine,  mother  of  Sigis- 
mund  Vasa,  113,  116. 

Catharine,  wife  of  John 
Vasa,  96,  97. 

Catharine  II  of  Russia,  plans 
to  bring  Poland  under  Rus- 
sian control,  159,  187,  188; 
intrigues  with  Poniatowski, 
191,  192;  becomes  Empress, 
192 ;  sends  army  into  Poland, 
193;  succeeds  in  haying 
Poniatowski  elected  King, 
194;  her  hold  on  the  King, 
194-97;  pushes  bill  enfran- 
chising Dissidents,  198,  199; 
and  the  Turkish  \yar,  201, 
202;  imposes  conditions  on 
alliance  with  Poland,  210, 
211;  makes  terms  with  Turks 
at  Jassy,  217,  218;  invades 
Poland,  223,  224;  and  the 
second  partition,  225-31 ;  de- 
cides to  crush  Poland,  234; 
death,  236. 
Charles  of  Sudermania,  125. 
Charles  X  of  Sweden,  143. 
Charles  XI  of  Sweden,  156. 
Charles  XII  of  Sweden,  156, 

157- 
Chelm,  Palatinate  of,  237. 
Chenciny,  Diet  of  (133 1),  40. 
Chlopicki,  General  Joseph,  259. 
Chmielnicki,  Bogdan,  140-42, 

177. 


Chodkiewicz,  126,  131,  136. 

Christianity,  entrance  into 
Poland,  5,  6,  15,  17;  adopted 
by  Lithuanians,  44,  45. 

Church,  Polish,  and  Boleslaus 

1,9. 

Church,  Roman  Catholic, 
comes  for  the  first  time  into 
political  importance  in  Po- 
land, 16;  reforms  of  Hilde- 
brand  in,  25,  26;  becomes 
free  from  kingly  and  princely 
government,  28 ;  division  of, 
into  Western  and  Eastern, 
53 ;  union  with  Greek  church 
in  the  "Union  of  Florence," 
57;  put  on  the  side  of  the 
privileged  under  John  Al- 
I      bert,  69. 

Church  courts,  89,  90,  92. 

Churches,  endowment  of,  28. 

Classes  in  Poland,  11,  67-69, 
168-78.  See  Nobles,  Peas- 
ants, Szlachta. 

Clergy,  influence  of,  increased, 
18,  25;  Hildebrand's  re- 
form of,  26;  married,  27; 
immunities  granted  to,  28, 
29,  32;  colonists  in  Poland, 
29;  under  Sigismund  II,  87, 
89,  90. 

Colonization,  German,  in  Po- 
land, 29,  30. 

Colonization  Commission,  288, 
289. 

Commerce,  179. 

Compact  of  Wilna  (1401),  55. 

Conde,  Prince  of,  149,  150. 

"Confederacy,"  Polish,  240. 

Confederation,  of  1590,  iiS; 
of  1592,  119;  of  1606,  123; 
under  John  Casimir,  144; 
and  Counter-Confederation, 
165;  of  Reform  Party  after 
death  of  Augustus  III,  193; 
at  Radom,  197;  of  Bar,  199; 
of  Targowica,  223,  225,  228. 

Congress  Kingdom,  251,  252, 
262. 


340 


INDEX 


Congress   of   Vienna    (1814), 

250-53- 

Congresses  of  Pan-Slavism, 
320,321. 

Conrad,  Duke  of  Masovia, 
35.  36. 

Constantine,  Grand  Duke, 
250,253,255-57,273. 

Constantinople,  3;  the  church 
3^t,53,54;  besieged  by  Turks, 
59;  captured  by  the  Turks, 
65;  Catharine  11 's  dream  of 
ruling  at,  187. 

Constitution  of  Poland,  the 
district  the  unit  of  local 
government,  12;  foundations 
of  aristocratic  government 
laid,  32 ;  permanent  advisory 
council  created,  33;  the 
first  Diet,  40;  all  nobles  ad- 
mitted to  share  in  King's 
counsels,  40;  aristocratic 
constitution  comes  into  ex- 
istence, 50,  51;  the  "Privi- 
Jege  of  Kaschau,"  62;  the 
"Statutes of  Nieszawa," 62; 
the  Dietines,  62-64;  the 
Model  Parliament,  67;  the 
^'Articles  of  Mielnica,"  71; 
royal  powers  limited  by 
Diet  in  1504,  71,  72;  Diet 
given  permanent  organiza- 
tion, 72;  the  szlachta  cur- 
tail rights  of  burghers 
and  peasants,  75,  76;  privi- 
leges secured  by  House  of 
Nuncios,  87,  88;  the  Diet 
by  the  "Union  of  Lublin," 
94;  provision  for  interreg- 
num, 98,  99;  the  King  and 
the  Diet  according  to  the 
pacta  conventa  with  Henry 
of  Anjou,  loi;  reform  in, 
planned  by  Stephen,  109; 
unanimity  of  voting  in  Diet, 
122, 123;  veto  power  in  Diet, 
147,  148;  efforts  to  change, 
164, 165 ;  description  of,  167- 
78;  unable  to  meet  the  test, 


167;  elective  kingship,  168, 
170,  230;  upheld  by  Russia 
and  Prussiain  treaty  of  1764, 
189;  efforts  of  Polish  Reform 
Party  to  introduce  new, 
192-97;  the  "Confedera- 
tion at  Radom,"  197;  the 
"Constitution  of  1773,"  204; 
the  "Four  Years  Diet," 
211;  efforts  of  the  Patriot 
Party  to  make  a  new,  218- 
21;  evil  features  of  the  old, 
reenacted,  230,  231;  of 
Duchy  of  Warsaw,  242, 
243;  granted  by  Alexander 
I,  253;  under  Alexander  H, 
272 ;  of  Republic  of  Cracow, 
277;  of  Grand  Duchy  of 
Posen,  278;  granted  to 
Galicia,  282.  See  Nobles, 
Szlachta,  Veto. 

Conti,  Prince  of,  155. 

Convocation  Diet  (1573),  98. 

Corvinus,  Matthias,  King  of 
Hungary,  65. 

Cossacks,  meaning  of  the 
name,  84,  127;  used  for  de- 
fense of  border  by  Sigis- 
mund  I,  84,  128;  brought 
into  the  army  by  Stephen, 
128;  registered,  128;  Zaporo- 
ghian,  129;  ranks  joined  by 
many,  130;  not  utilized  by 
the  Poles,  130,  131;  allies 
of  "The  Thief,"  134;  and 
Wladislaus  IV,  139,  140; 
their  grievances  against  the 
Poles,  140,  141;  war  with 
Poland,  141 ;  join  Russia  and 
lose  their  power,  142;  put 
under  joint  dominion  of 
Muscovy  and  Poland,  147; 
defeated  by  Sobieski,  151. 

Counter-Confederations,   165, 

193. 

Counter-Reformation  in  Po- 
land, 92. 

County  magnates,  173. 

Courland,  37,  96,  237. 


INDEX 


341 


Courts,  Church,  89,  90,  92. 

Courts  of  justice,  176. 

Courts  of  the  dynasts,  171, 
172. 

Coxe,  English  traveler,  quoted, 
180. 

Cracow,  annexed  to  Poland,  8; 
the  See  of,  freed  from  de- 
pendence on  Magdeburg, 
9;  importance  of,  in  four- 
teenth century,  41,  42;  Uni- 
versity of,  58;  Court  of, 
under  Queen  Bona,  85;  per- 
mission for  Protestant 
church  in,  93;  kings  crowned 
and  buried  at,  95;  taken  by 
Prince  of  Transylvania, 
143;  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, 179;  uprising  in,  after 
second  partition,  232;  at 
third  partition  falls  to  Aus- 
tria, 237;  Republic  of,  251, 
277;  annexed  to  Austria,  277. 

Crimea,  65. 

Crusades,  the,  36. 

Cujavia,  22,  24,  25,  46,  202, 
227,  242. 

Czar  of  all  Russia,  78. 

Czardom  of  Poland,  251,  260. 

Czartoryski,  Prince  Adam, 
193,248-50,259. 

Czartoryski,  Prmce  Alexan- 
der Olgierd,  326. 

Czartoryski,  Prince  Augustus, 
164,  191,  192. 

Czartoryski,  Prince  Michael, 

164,  191,  192. 
Czartoryski  family,  the,  164, 

165,  190. 
Czenstochowa,  143,  144. 

Danes,  the,  34. 

Danube,  rivalry  of  Austria  and 
Russia  for,  160. 

Danzig,  seized  by  the  Pomera- 
nians, 34;  a  trading  center, 
41,  42,  205;  spread  of  Lu- 
ther's doctrines  in,  76;  re- 
fuses to  recognize  Stephen, 


104;  King  Stanislaus  takes 
refuge  in,  162;  surrenders  to 
the  Russians,  163;  coveted 
by  the  King  of  Prussia,  213, 
217,  218,  222;  acquired  by 
Prussia  at  second  partition, 
227;  made  a  free  city, 
242. 

Daszkiewicz,  Lord  Marcher, 
84. 

Dembrinski,  Chancellor,  102. 

Democracy,  the  district  an 
institution  of,  12. 

Denmark,  144,  156. 

Deulino,  Truce  of  (i6i8),  136, 
138. 

Diet,  of  Chenciny  (1331),  40; 
and  Dietines,  62,  63;  of 
Piotrkow  (1493),  67;  revival 
of,  under  John  Albert,  67; 
in  two  houses,  67,  87,  88;  of 
1496,  67,  68;  of  1501,  70;  of 
1504,  71;  of  Radom  (1505), 
72;  given  a  permanent  or- 
ganization, 72;  of  1522,  74; 
of  1523,  74;  of  1527,  74; 
of  Piotrkow  (1548),  86; 
eighteen  months  later,  87; 
of  Piotrkow  (1552),  90;  of 
united  Poland-Lithuania, 
meeting-place  at  Warsaw, 
95;  the  Convocation  (1573), 
98;  election  (1573),  99, 100; 
election  (1575),  103;  elec- 
tion (1587),  112;  of  1590, 
118;  extraordinary,  of  1590, 
118;  Inquisition  (1592),  119; 
of  1603,  120-22;  of  1605, 
122,  134;  unanimity  voting 
in,  122,  148;  of  1606,  122; 
Truce  of  Altmark  made  by, 
137;  opposition  of,  to 
Wladislaus  IV,  138-40;  of 
1646,  140;  veto  power  in, 
147,  148;  election  (1669), 
150;  towns  at  one  time  rep- 
resented in,  178;  agrees  to 
the  first  partition  of  Poland, 
202,  203;  of  1773,  204;  the 


342 


INDEX 


Great  (Four  Years*  Diet), 
211, 224;  of  Grodno,  227-31; 
the  Dumb  Session,  229;  of 
Duchy  of  Warsaw,  242;  of 
Grand  Duchy  of  Posen,  278; 
Galician,  314. 

Dietines,  local  assemblies,  62, 
63;  deputies  of,  sent  to  the 
National  Diet,  67;  curtail 
rights  of  citizens,  75,  76; 
votes  of  the  poor  nobles  at 
service  of  magnates  in,  174; 
of  Samogitia,  209. 

Diets,  of  Poland,  and  of  Lith- 
uania, union  of,  94;  "ex- 
ploded," 148,  163,  165,  170, 

193- 

Dispossession  Act,  Polish,  289. 

Dissidents,  deprived  of  politi- 
cal and  civil  rights,  185; 
cause  taken  up  by  Catharine 
II,  189,  190;  did  not  want 
equality,  197, 198;  Catharine 
pushes  bill  enfranchising, 
198,  199. 

District,  the,  in  early  Poland, 
12. 

Dmitri,  Czar,  132,  133;  the 
False,  133,  134. 

Dmowski,  Ramon,  quoted  on 
the  Polish  question,  291; 
leader  of  National  Demo- 
cratic Polish  Party,  303. 

Dnieper,  the,  2,  3. 

Dobrawa,  Princess,  6. 

Dobryzn,  46,  55. 

Dombrowski,  Polish  general, 
240. 

Doroshenko,  Cossack  leader, 

151. 

Drang  nach  Osten,  285. 

Dress,  national,  of  the  Poles, 
172. 

Dual  Alliance,  the,  161. 

Dual  Monarchy,  establish- 
ment of,  310. 

Duchy  of  Prussia,  80. 

Duchy  of  Warsaw,  242-46, 
251. 


Dukes  of  Pomerania,  34. 
Duma,  the,  307,  315,  317-20. 
Dumb  Session,  the,  229. 
Dynasts,  170-73. 

East  GaHcia,  311. 

East   Prussia,   61,    136,    145; 

New,  237. 
Ecclesiastical  Synod  of  1542, 

184  n. 
Edict  Nihil  Novi,  72. 
Education,    of    Polish    mag- 
nates,   173;   reorganization 

of,  207. 
Elbe,  the,  2. 
Elbing,  137. 
Election    Diet,   of    1573,    99, 

100;  of  1575,  103;  of  1587, 

112;  of  1669,  150. 
Elective  kingship  in  Poland, 

168,  170,  230. 
England,  146,  168,  216-18. 
Erick,  King  of  Sweden,  116. 
Ermeland,  202. 
Ernest,  Archduke,  100. 
Esthonia,  96,  114,  115,  159. 
"Exploded"  Diets,  148,  163, 

165,  170,  193. 
Expropriation     Act,     Polish, 

289. 

"Family,  The,"  164. 
Federative  System,  the,  216. 
Ferdinand  of  Habsburg,   82, 

83. 

Feudal  system,  never  intro- 
duced into  Poland,  12 ;  in 
Lithuania,  54,  56. 

Firley,  John,  100,  102. 

Florence,  Union  of  (1434),  57, 
121. 

Forests,  179. 

Four  Years'  Diet,  211,  212, 
224. 

France,  her  interest  in  the 
election  of  the  Kings  of  Po- 
land, 160;  rivalry  with  Aus- 
tria for  the  Rhine,  160;  al- 
liance of,  with  Russia,  161; 


INDEX 


343 


influence  of,  at  the  Polish 
Court,  i6i. 

Franz  Ferdinand,  Archduke, 
315.  316. 

Frederick  Augustus,  King 
of  Poland,  election,  155.  See 
Augustus  II. 

Frederick  Barbarossa,  23. 

Frederick  the  Great,  has  de- 
signs on  Poland,  166;  and 
the  Notez  River,  180;  atti- 
tude toward  Russian  alli- 
ance, 188;  urges  a  weak 
Poland,  195,  196;  attitude 
toward  Russo-Turkish  War, 
200-02 ;  covets  Polish  Prus- 
sia, 200;  suggests  partition 
of  Poland,  201,  202.  See 
Prussia. 

Frederick  William  of  Branden- 
burg (the  "Great  Elector"), 
145,  146. 

Frederick  William  IV  of  Prus- 
sia, 279. 

Freemen.  See  Kmeten. 

Galicia,  division  of,  between 
Poland  and  Lithuania,  47; 
goes  to  Russia,  202;  at 
Treaty  of  Vienna,  242 ;  con- 
ditions in,  since  1815,  280- 
83;  after  1863,  307-11; 
difference  between  East 
and  West,  311;  the  Poles 
in,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Great  War,  326,  327. 

Gedymin  of  Lithuania,  43, 
44. 

German  Empire,  the  influ- 
ence of,  a  danger  for  Slav- 
dom, 303,  304. 

German  system  of  church  im- 
munity, 28,  29. 

Germans,  pressure  of,  to  the 
East  in  tenth  century,  5,  6; 
influence  in  Poland  in  tenth 
century,  6;  and  Duke  Mie- 
czyslaw,  6,  7;  influence  in 
Poland  under  Queen  Rixa, 


13;  colonization  of,  in  Po- 
land, 29,  30;  not  tenacious 
of  their  nationalism,  286, 
290. 

Germany,  her  present  attitude 
toward  the  Poles,  xviii,  xix; 
abiding  danger  to  Slavic  in- 
dependence, 8;  fails  to  con- 
quer Poland,  10,  1 1 ;  invades 
Poland  under  Boleslaus  III, 
17;  her  struggle  against  the 
Papacy,  19;  conquers  to  the 
Oder,  34;  aim  of  her  diplo- 
macy to  create  enmity  be- 
tween Russia  and  Poland, 
306;  and  the  Ukranian  ques- 
tion, 313-16.   See  Prussia. 

Glinsky,  Helena,  79. 

Glinsky,  Prince  Michael,  78, 

79. 
Gnesen,   German   Bishop  of, 
6;  made  a  great  shrine  by 
Boleslaus  I,  9;  the  See  of, 
raised  to  metropolitan  rank, 

9. 
Grand  Duchy  of  Posen,  278. 
Grand  Hetman,  73. 
Great   Diet,   the,    211,    212, 

224. 
Great  Northern  War,  156, 158, 

159- 

Great  Poland,  22,  222,  227. 

Greek  Orthodox  Church,  his- 
tory of,  53,  54;  union  with 
Roman  Church  in  the 
"Union  of  Florence,"  57; 
cause  taken  up  by  Catha- 
rine II,  190;  Uniates  forced 
into,  297. 

Gregory  VII,  Pope.  See  Hilde- 
brand. 

Grodno,  Diet  of  (1793),  227- 

31- 
Grosswardein,  Peace  of  (1538), 

83.  . 
Grudzinska,  Jeannette,  256. 
Griinewald,  battle  of  (14 10), 

xii,  55- 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  136,  138. 


344 


INDEX 


Habsburg  Emperors,  79,  82- 
84. 

Halicz,  47. 

Hanseatic  League,  42. 

Hedwig,  Queen,  xi,  49,  57, 
58. 

Henry,  fourth  son  of  Wladis- 
laus,  22. 

Henry  II,  Emperor,  8. 

Henry  IV,  Emperor,  19. 

Henry  V,  Emperor,  17. 

Henry,  Duke  of  Anjou.  See 
Anjou. 

Heresy,  89,  90. 

Hildebrand,  reform  of,  25,  26. 

Hohenberg,  Duchess  of,  315. 

Hohenzollern  Electors  of 
Brandenburg,  145. 

Holland,  146,  216. 

Horodlo,  Union  of  (1414),  56. 

Hosius,  92. 

Hospital  of  St.  Mary,  36. 

House  militia,  171,  174. 

Hungary,  settlement  of  Mag- 
yars in,  2;  and  Wladislaus 
III,  59;  Wladislaus  of  Bo- 
hemia elected  King  of,  65; 
crushed  by  the  Turks,  81; 
becomes  possession  of  House 
of  Habsburg,  82,  83;  joins 
the  Turks,  153. 

Hussites,  the,  58,  64. 

Igelstrom,  General,  231-33. 

Immaculate  Conception,  Or- 
der of,  139. 

Immunity,  Church,  28,  29. 

Ingria,  159. 

Innocent  III,  Pope,  27. 

Inquisition  Diet  (1592),  119. 

"Insurrection"  of  1606,  123, 

Interregnum,  provision  for, 
98,  99. 

Isabella,  Queen  of  Hungary, 

83. 
Ivan  III,  Czar,  64. 
Ivan  IV,  Czar,  96,  100,  106- 

08,  132. 
Izba,  House  of  Nuncios,  103. 


Jaglello,  Catharine,  mother  of 
Sigismund  Vasa,  113,  116. 

Jagiello,  Grand  Duke  of  Lith- 
uania and  King  of  Poland, 
marries  Hedwig,  xi,  49;  and 
Witowt  of  Lithuania,  51 ,  52, 
55.  56;  religious  tolerance  of, 
58;  his  rule  of  Poland,  58, 
59. 

Jagiellon  dynasty,  character 
of,  50;  in  possession  of  four 
thrones,  65;  champions  of 
the  towns,  75. 

Janowiec,  battle  of  (1606), 
123. 

Jasna-Gora,  Convent  of,  143. 

Jassy,  Treaty  of  (1792),  218. 

Jena,  battle  of  (1806),  249. 

Jendrzow,  119. 

Jesuits  in  Poland,  92;  intoler- 
ance of,  185;  and  education, 
207;  intolerance  partly  re- 
sponsible for  ruin  of  Poland, 
302. 

Jewish  Judge,  the,  182. 

Jews  in  Poland,  180-84,  324. 

John,  King  of  Sweden,  1 13-16. 

John  III  (Sobieski),  King  of 
Poland,  fights  the  Cossacks 
and  the  Turks,  151,  152; 
elected  King,  152;  character 
of,  152;  decline  of  Poland 
under,  152,  153;  his  rescue 
of  Vienna  from  the  Turks, 
153-55;  death,  155. 

John  Albert,  King  of  Poland 
( 1 492-1501),  64,  66-70. 

John  Casimir,  King  of  Poland, 
141-49. 

John  Vasa,  Duke  of  Finland, 
96,  97. 

Jordan,  German  Bishop  of 
Gnesen,  6. 

Kamieniec,  151,  152,  155. 
Kara  Mustafa  Kiuprili,  153. 
Karnkowski,  Primate,  1 12-14. 
Kaschau,  Privilege  of  (1374), 
62. 


INDEX 


345 


Kazan,  io6. 

Ketler,  Gothard  von,  96. 

Kiev,  capital  of  first  Russian 
state,  3;  throne  of,  8;  Mary, 
sister  of  Grand  Prince  of,  15; 
voluptuous  life  at,  15;  aban- 
doned to  the  Polovstui,  22; 
under  Lithuanian  rule,  44; 
ceded  to  Russia,  147. 

Kingship,  elective,  in  Poland, 
168,  170,  230. 

Kirkholm,  battle  of  (1605), 
126. 

Kmeten  (freemen),  11,  32,  41, 
48,  176. 

Knights  of  the  Sword,  37,  95, 
96. 

Kolberg,  See  of,  freed  from  de- 
pendence on  Magdeburg,  9. 

Konarsky,  Stanislaus,  164. 

Koniecpolski,  Stanislaus,  137. 

Kordecki,  Augustus,  143. 

Kosciuszko,  Thaddeus,  225; 
goes  into  exile,  226,  227;  re- 
turns to  Poland  and  is  made 
Commander-in-Chief,  231, 
232 ;  made  Dictator,  233 ;  his 
splendid  fight,  234,  235; 
wounded  and  taken  pris- 
oner, 236;  makes  home  in 
France,  236;  saber  taken 
from  the  Turks  by  Sobieski 
sent  to,  24 1 ;  holds  aloof  from 
Napoleon,  244;  Alexander  I 
and,  248. 

Kramarz,  Charles,  320. 

Krzemieniec,  84. 

Kulm,  36,  37,  46. 

Kulmerland,  202,  242. 

Land  tax  of  1774,  206. 
Laski,  Jan,  83. 
LeClerc,  General,  241. 
Lelewel,  historian,  258. 
Lemberg    (Lwow),    47,    179; 

Ukranian  University  at,  314. 
Leszczynski,  Stanislaus,  King 

of   Poland,    156,    157,    161, 

162,  176. 


Leszek,  son  of  Boleslaus  IV, 
24,  25. 

Leszek,  the  Black,  King  of  Po- 
land, 37. 

Leszek,  the  White,  King  of 
Poland,  33-35. 

Liberty  of  the  individual, 
theory  of,  170. 

Liberum  veto,  xiii,  147,  189, 
192,  196,  211,  221,  230. 

Literature  of  Poland,  97. 

Lithuania,  significance  of  union 
with  Poland,  xi;  rise  of,  42, 
43;  conquers  Russian  prov- 
inces, 43,  44;  brought  into 
contact  with  Christianity, 
44>  45;  gets  part  of  Galicia, 
47;  united  with  Poland  un- 
der Queen  Hedwig  and 
Jagiello,  49,  50;  union  of, 
with  Poland,  opposed  by 
Teutonic  Knights,  51,  52; 
religion  basis  of  antagonism 
between  Poland  and,  54; 
other  reasons  for  opposition 
between  Poland  and,  54,  55; 
feudally  organized,  54,  56;  in 
Union  of  Horodlo,  56;  ar- 
rangement of  Uniate  Church 
adopted  in,  57;  union  with 
Poland  strengthened  by 
Casimir  III,  65,  66;  takes 
Kings  of  Poland  for  Grand 
Dukes,  70 ;  real  union  of,  with 
Poland  effected,  94;  invad- 
ed by  the  Muscovites,  143; 
part  of,  falls  to  Russia  by 
first  and  second  partitions 
of  Poland,  227;  at  the  third 
partition,  237. 

Lithuanian  College  at  Prague, 

58. 

Little  Poland,  22,  237. 

Little  Russia,  227,  297. 

Little  Russians,  31 1-13. 

Livonia,  taken  by  Teutonic 
Knights,  37;  acquisition  of, 
by  Poland,  95;  Reformation 
in,  75;  struggle  of  Ivan  IV 


346 


INDEX 


and  Stephen  for,  io6,  107; 
invaded  by  Swedes,  125; 
saved  for  Poland  at  battle 
of  Kirkholm,  126;  Musco- 
vy's claims  on,  renounced 
to  Sweden  by  Shuiski,  134; 
invaded  by  Gustavus  Adol- 
phus,  136;  in  Swedish  hands, 
137;  recovered  by  Poland, 
139;  ceded  to  Charles  X, 
146;  in  possession  of  Peter 
the  Great,  159;  Polish,  goes 
to  Russia,  202. 

Local  government,  the  district 
the  unit  of,  12. 

Lodomeria,  282. 

Louis,  son  of  Wladislaus,  83. 

Louis  XIV  of  France,  161. 

Louis  XV  of  France,  161. 

Louis  of  Anjou,  King  of  Po- 
land, 49,  62. 

Lovicz,  Countess  (Jeannette 
Grudzinska),  256. 

Lubecki,  Francis,  300. 

Lubecki,  Prince  Xavier,  255, 
260. 

Lublin,  Union  of  (1569),  xii, 
94;  at  third  partition  falls 
to  Austria,  237. 

Lubomirski,  rebellion  of,  146, 

149- 
Luneville,  Peace  of  (i 801),  241. 
Lutherans,  91. 

Maciegowice,  236. 

Madalinski,  General,  232. 

Magnates  (pans)  of  Poland, 
12,  170^73. 

Magyars,  invasion  of,  into  Eu- 
rope, 2;  permanent  settle- 
ment of,  on  plains  of  Hun- 
gary, 2. 

Majority  and  minority  voting, 
122,  123. 

Mantua,  battle  of  (1799),  241. 

Manufactures,  179,  206. 

Maria,  Archduchess,  120. 

Maria,  daughter  of  Palatine 
of  Sandomir,  134. 


Maria  Theresa,  Empress,  202. 

Mary,  sister  of  Grand  Prince 
of  Kiev,  15. 

Maslav  of  Masovia,  14. 

Masovia,  marshes  in,  5;  Ma- 
slav of,  14;  left  to  Boleslaus 
IV,  22 ;  inherited  by  Leszek, 
24;  obtained  by  Casimir, 
25;  Teutonic  Knights  settle 
in,  33;  Prussians  invade,  35; 
ruled  by  its  own  duke,  39; 
accepts  suzerainty  of  Po- 
land, 48;  united  with  Po- 
land, 84;  part  of,  falls  to 
Prussia  by  second  partition, 
227;  remainder  falls  to  Prus- 
sia by  third  partition,  237. 

Maximilian,  Archduke,  112, 
114,  n8. 

Maximilian  II,  Emperor,  100, 
103,  104. 

Memel,  137. 

Mendovg  of  Lithuania,  43. 

Michael  Romanoff,  135,  136, 
138,  158. 

Michael  Wisniowiecki,  King 
of  Poland,  150-52. 

Michelow,  46. 

Mieczyslaw  I,  Duke,  first  non- 
legendary  ruler  of  Poland, 
4;  becomes  Christian  and 
marries  Christian  princess, 
6;  opposed  by  Germans,  6; 
makes  friends  with  Ger- 
mans, 6;  receives  German 
help  against  Bohemians,  7; 
legend  concerning  his  blind- 
ness, 7;  his  sons,  7. 

Mieczyslaw  II,  13. 

Mieczyslaw  III,  22,  24,  32, 
33;  line  of,  25. 

Mielnica,  Articles  of,  71. 

Mieroslawski,  Louis,  269,  279. 

Mines,  179. 

Moldavia,  Polish  suzerainty 
over,  65;  ravages  Poland, 
70;  hostility  of,  to  Poland 
under  Sigismund  I,  81 ;  sub- 
mission of,  to  Turkish  suze- 


INDEX 


347 


rainty,  8i;  Polish  claim  to, 
126;  a  part  of  modern  Rou- 
mania,  201. 

Monasteries,  foundation  of, 
28;  assist  German  coloniza- 
tion in  Poland,  29. 

Mongols,  30. 

Monti,  French  Ambassador, 
162. 

Montluc,  99. 

Moravia,  annexed  to  Poland, 
8. 

Muscovy,  under  Ivan  III,  64; 
pressure  of,  upon  Lithu- 
ania, 70;  and  Poland,  per- 
manent hostility  between, 
77,  78;  Sigismund  I's  rela- 
tions with,  78,  79^  obtains 
Polotsk  in  1569,  97;  in  time 
of  Stephen,  104-06;  defeated 
by  Stephen,  106,  107;  an- 
archy of,  following  reign  of 
Ivan  IV,  132;  election  of 
Michael  as  Czar  of,  135; 
recognition  of  Michael  as 
Czar  of,  136,  138;  invades 
Lithuania,  143;  defeated  by 
Poland  in  the  Thirteen 
Years'  War,  146;  advance 
of,  under  Michael,  Alexis, 
and  Peter  the  Great,  158, 
159.  See  Russia. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  takes 
possession  of  Northern  Italy, 
239;  leads  Poles  to  think 
he  will  assist  their  cause, 
240;  conquers  Prussia,  242; 
forms  Duchy  of  Warsaw, 
242 ;  and  Treaty  of  Vienna, 
242;  feeling  of  the  Poles 
toward,  244,  245;  defeat  in 
Russia,  246. 

National  Democratic  Polish 
Party,  301,  303,  306,  315, 
317.  321. 

National  League,  the,  302. 

National  Patriotic  Association, 
256,  258. 


National  Polish  Church,  move- 
ment for,  in  Poland,  91-93. 

Nationalism,  democratic, 

teaching    of    the   National 
League,  302. 

Neo-Slavs,  306,  321. 

Netze,  the,  boundary  of  Po- 
land to  the  north,  4,  5;  dis- 
trict of,  goes  to  Russia,  202 ; 
district  of,  taken  from  Prus- 
sia, 242. 

New  East  Prussia,  237. 

New  Silesia,  237. 

Nicholas  I,  Emperor,  257, 264, 
266,  297. 

Nicholas  II,  Emperor,  295. 

Nicholas,  Grand  Duke,  xvii, 
321,  322. 

Nieszawa,  Statutes  of  (1454), 
62. 

Nihil  Novi,  Edict,  72. 

Nobles,  Polish,  11, 12;  increase 
in  power  of,  under  Mieczys- 
law  II,  13,  18;  immunities 
acquired  by,  31,  32 ;  increase 
in  power  of,  under  Wladis- 
laus  Lokietek,  40;  greater 
and  lesser,  41;  form  main 
army,  41 ;  in  Lithuania,  56; 
and  Casimir  IV,  60-62 ;  sub- 
jection of  other  classes  to, 
67-71 ;  and  military  service, 
74;  election  of  King  by,  99; 
power  wholly  in  hands  of, 
167;  weakness  of,  168-70; 
responsible  for  Poland's  fall, 
169;  number  of,  169;  whom 
they  included,  170;  the  mag- 
nate families,  170-73;  other 
grades  of,  173-75;  their 
chief  virtue  and  their  chief 
vices,  175;  rich  lands  in 
hands  of,  205;  reduced  prof- 
its of,  after  first  partition, 

205,  206;  assist  reformers, 

206.  See  Szlachta. 
Norsemen,  in  Russia,  3;  in  Po- 
land, 4. 

Notez  River,  the,  180. 


348 


INDEX 


Novgorod-Severski,  province 
of,  136. 

Novi,  battle  of  (1799),  241. 

Novosiltsoff,  Nicholas,  254- 
56. 

Nuncios,  in  the  Polish  Parlia- 
ment, 67;  privileges  claimed 
by,  87,  88. 

Nystadt,  Peace  of  (1721),  159. 

Oginski,  Count,  240. 

Old  Ruthenes,  314,  321. 

Olgierd  of  Lithuania,  45,  47. 

Oliva,  Peace  of  (1660),  146. 

Organic  Statute  of  1832,  259, 
261. 

Orthodox  Church.  See  Greek- 
Orthodox  Church. 

Ostrowski,  Count  Wladislaus, 
226,  258. 

Otto  III,  Emperor,  9. 

Pacta  Conventa,  xiii,  71,  loi. 

Pan-Germanism,  x,  xvi. 

Panin,  Count,  195. 

Pans,  the,  12,  170-73. 

Pan-Slavism,  2;  under  Boles- 
laus  I,  8;  in  modern  Russia, 
263;  a  defense  against  Ger- 
man influence,  304;  Con- 
gresses of,  320,  321. 

Parliament,  Polish,  67. 

"Partitional  Period,"  the,  18, 

63. 
Party  of  Conciliation,  301. 
Paskievich,  260. 
Patriarchates,  53. 
Paul,  Emperor,  236,  248. 
Peaceful  penetration,  284. 
Peasants,  Polish,  176-78,  270, 

271,292-94,  302,303,311. 
Permanent    Committee,    the, 

204. 
Peter  the  Great,  155,  157-59; 

takes  title  of  "Emperor  oi 

all  Russia,"  159. 
Peter  III  of  Russia,  188. 
Piast,   legendary  founder    of 

Polish  state,  4. 


Pilsudzld,  Joseph,  325. 

Piotrkow,  Diet  of  1493  at,  67; 
Diet  of  1548  at,  86;  Diet  of 
1552  at,  90. 

Pitt,  and  the  Triple  Alliance, 
216;  his  plan  for  Poland, 
216,  217. 

Plattburg,  Walter  von,  95. 

Podiebrodski,  George,  64. 

Podlachia,  230,  237. 

Podlesia,  227,  237. 

Podolia,  55;  taken  by  Prince 
of  Translyvania,  143;  in- 
vaded by  Turks,  151 ;  recov- 
ered by  Poland  by  Treaty 
of  Carlowitz,  155;  Austria 
obtains  a  piece  of,  by  first 
partition,  202;  Russia  ob- 
tains part  of,  by  second  par- 
tition, 227. 

Pola,  kings  elected  on  field  of, 
95- 

Poland,  summary  of  history 
of,  x-xv;  her  present  relation 
to  Russia,  Germany,  and 
Austria,  xv-xix;  real  his- 
tory begins  with  tenth  cen- 
tury, i;  the  founding  of  a 
state,  4,  6;  limits  of,  4,  5; 
shifting  of  eastern  and 
western  frontiers  of,  5;  be- 
comes Christian  state,  6; 
a  recognized  part  of  West- 
ern Christian  world  at 
Mieczyslaw's  death,  7;  un- 
der Boleslaus  I,  7;  "the 
unconquered  kernel  of  West- 
ern Slavdom,"  10,  1 1 ;  politi- 
cal organization  of,  under 
Boleslaus  I,  11-13;  feudal 
system  introduced  into,  12; 
under  Mieczyslaw  II  and 
Queen  Rixa,  13,  14;  under 
Casimir,  son  of  Mieczyslaw 
II,  14,  15;  under  Boleslaus 
II,  15-17;  Church  for  first 
time  comes  into  political 
importance  in,  16;  under 
Wladislaus     Herman,     17; 


INDEX 


349 


under  Boleslaus  III,  17,  18, 
34;  division  of,  by  Boleslaus 
III,  18,  20,  22;  the  "Parti- 
tional  Period,"  18,  19;  her 
lost  opportunity  to  become 
a  western  European  state, 
19,  20;  two  hundred  years 
of  anarchy  in,  22;  under 
Wladislaus,  son  of  Boles- 
laus III,  22-24;  under 
Boleslaus  IV,  24,  34;  church 
reforms  in,  27;  immunity 
of  clergy  introduced  into, 
28,  29,  32;  German  col- 
onization in,  29,  30;  swept 
by  Tartars,  30;  immunities 
acquired  by  nobles  in,  31, 
32;  acts  of  Casimir,  son  of 
Wladislaus,  32,  33;  under 
Leszek  the  White,  33-35; 
under  Conrad,  35,  36;  fur- 
ther Germanization  of,  37; 
lowest  point  in  degradation 
of,  38;  under  Waclaw,  38; 
under  Wladislaus  Lokietek, 
38-42,  45;  coronation  of 
kings  of,  39;  under  Casimir 
III,  45-49;  gets  East  Ga- 
licia,  47;  under  Louis  of  An- 
jou,  49;  united  with  Lithu- 
anian Empire,  49,  50. 

Rise  of  aristocratic  con- 
stitution in,  50;  union  of 
Lithuania  and,  opposed  by 
Teutonic  Knights,  51,  52; 
antagonism  between  Rus- 
sian Lithuania  and,  had 
religious  basis,  54;  other 
reasons  for  opposition  be- 
tween Lithuania  and,  54, 
55;  the  Union  of  Horodio, 
56;  under  Jagiello,  58,  59; 
obtains  Pomerelia,  60,  61 ; 
Casimir  Ill's  struggle  with 
the  nobles,  60,  61 ;  the  Diet- 
ines,  62,  63;  union  with 
Lithuania  strengthened  by 
Casimir  III,  65,  66;  Model 
Parliament  of,  67;  advance 


of  szlachta  to  class  apart,  67- 
71 ;  condition  at  Alexander's 
death,  72;  under  Sigismund 
I,  72-85;  entrance  of  the 
Reformation  into,  76,  89; 
and  Muscovy,  77-79;  army 
inefficient  owing  to  szlachta 
control,  79;  hostility  of 
Turks  to,  79-81;  recog- 
nizes secularization  of 
Duchy  of  Prussia,  80;  union 
of  Masovia  with,  84;  the 
Diet,  87, 88;  religious  liberty 
in,  90;  reformers  in,  90,  91; 
sects  in,  91;  movement  for 
national  Church  in,  91-93; 
Counter- Reformation  in, 
92;  Jesuits  in,  92;  real  union 
of,  with  Lithuania  effected, 
94;  acquisition  of  Livonia, 
95;  unites  with  Sweden  to 
oppose  Muscovites,  97. 

At  the  height  of  her  pros- 
perity under  Sigismund  Au- 
gustus, 97;  period  of  great 
literature,  97;  confusion  in, 
at  death  of  Sigismund  Au- 
gustus, 98;  election  of  Duke 
of  Anjou  as  King  of,  99,  100; 
limitation  of  power  of  Kings 
by  pacta  conventa,  10 1 ; 
Stephen  Batory  elected 
King  of,  103;  foreign  policy 
of  Stephen,  104-09;  inter- 
nal policy  of  Stephen,  109- 
II;  election  of  Sigismund 
Vasa  as  King,  1 13-15;  reli- 
gious persecution  in,  under 
Sigismund  Vasa,  117;  Aus- 
trian intrigues  of  Sigismund 
and  civil  war,  118-25;  Li- 
vonia saved  for,  by  battle 
of  Kirkholm,  126;  Turks 
defeated  by  (16 19),  132; 
war  with  Muscovy,  132; 
part  taken  by,  in  Russian 
domestic  affairs,  133-36;  war 
with  .Gustavus  Adolphus, 
136,  137;  recovers  Prussian 


350 


INDEX 


territory  and  Livonia,   139. 

Struggle  of  King  with 
Diet,  139,  140;  under  John 
Casimir,  141-49;  war  with 
the  Cossacks,  141,  142;  loses 
the  Ukraine,  142;  attacked 
by  Muscovites  and  Swedes, 
143;  Charles  X  of  Sweden 
set  up  as  King  of,  143;  de- 
fense of  Czenstochowa,  143, 
144;  buys  allies,  144,  145; 
in  the  Thirteen  Years'  War, 
1 46 , 1 47 ;  effect  of  veto  power 
in  Diet  of,  147,  148;  war 
with  Turks  at  tiiHe  of  Mi- 
chael, 151,  152;  decline  of, 
under  Sobieski,  152,  153;  in 
the  Great  Northern  War, 
156;  the  ruin  of,  157;  Rus- 
sian influence  established  in, 
159;  Peter  the  Great's  plans 
with  reference  to,  159;  in- 
fluence of  France  at  court 
of,  161;  period  of  stagna- 
tion during  the  reign  of 
Augustus  II,  163-66. 

Lacked  strong  govern- 
ment, 167;  elective  kingship 
in,  a  misfortune,  168;  weak- 
ness of  the  nobility  of,  168- 
70;  nobility  responsible  for 
her  fall,  169;  ruled  by  a  few 
great  families,  170;  the 
courts  of  the  dynasts  and 
their  house  militia,  171,  172, 
174;  the  national  dress,  172; 
retainers  of  the  magnates, 
172,  174,  175;  education  of 
magnates,  173;  the  non- 
magnate  classes  of  the  no- 
bility, 173-75;  the  chief 
virtue  and  the  chief  vices 
of  the  nobility,  1 75 ;  the  peas- 
ants, 176-78:  the  towns  of, 
178,  179;  natural  riches  of 
the  country  unworked,  179, 
180;  the  Jews  in,  180-84; 
torn  by  antagonisms,  184- 
86;  religious  persecution  in. 


184;  the  fall  of,  foretold,  185, 
186. 

Made  the  tool  of  foreign 
powers,  187;  Russia  of  pre- 
dominant influence  in,  187; 
treaty  of  Russia  and  Prus- 
sia aimed  at,  189;  not  al- 
lowed to  reform  her  govern- 
ment, 189;  Dissidents  sup- 
ported by  Catharine  II,  189, 
190;  efforts  of  Reform  Party 
to  change  the  Constitution, 
192,  193;  Catharine  sends 
army  into,  193;  Poniatow- 
ski  elected  King,  194;  the 
question  of  a  strong  or  a 
weak,  195,  196;  weakness  of 
the  King,  196;  further  efforts 
of  the  Reform  Party,  196; 
the*King  yields  to  the  Em- 
press, 196,  197;  attitude  of 
Dissidents  toward  question 
of  equality,  197,  198;  in  civil 
war  over  the  religious  ques- 
tion, 199;  and  the  Russo- 
Turkish  War,  200;  first  par- 
tition of,  201-03;  governed 
by  Russia,  203,  204;  under 
the  Constitution  of  1773, 
204;  economic  and  social 
reforms  in,  204,  206;  results 
of  partition  on  revenues  and 
incomes,  205,  207;  reorgani- 
zation of  education  in,  207; 
divergent  views  of  the  King 
and  the  Patriot  Party  as 
to  political  future  of,  208; 
aims  to  free  herself  from 
Russian  control,  209,  210; 
the  Great  Diet,  211,  212, 
224;  and  Prussian  alliance, 
211-13;  Prussia  covets  ter- 
ritory of,  213;  nature  of 
Prussian  alliance,  214;  as  re- 
gards the  wisdom  of  the 
Prussian  alliance,  214-16; 
and  the  Triple  Alliance  of 
Pitt,  216;  England  promotes 
commercial  treaty  between 


INDEX 


351 


Prussia  and,  217;  adoption 
of  new  Constitution,  218- 
21;  intrigues  of  Russia  for 
reconquest  of,  221-24;  the 
King  acquiesces  in  Russia's 
terms,  225,  226;  second  par- 
tition of,  227;  resistance  to 
Russian  demands,  228; 
forced  to  accept  Prussian 
treaty,  229;  virtually  made 
a  Russian  province,  230, 
231;  indignation  in,  over 
second  partition,  231;  revo- 
lution of  1794  in,  231-36; 
third  partition  of,  236-38. 

Establishment  of  Duchy 
of  Warsaw,  242;  Constitu- 
tion of,  242,  243;  introduc- 
tion of  Code  Napoleon  into, 
243 ;  hopes  of  a  new,  244-46 ; 
again  taken  by  Russia,  246; 
Alexander  I  determines  to 
restore,  247-49;  disposition 
of  territories  of,  as  result  of 
Congress  of  Vienna,  250- 
52 ;  Constitution  of,  granted 
by  Alexander  I,  253;  under 
the  new  Constitution,  253- 
56;  Revolution  of  1830,257- 
59 ;  declared  integral  part  of 
Russian  Empire,  259,  260; 
under  the  Organic  Statute 
of  1832,  259-61;  policy  of 
Russia  toward,  since  1831, 
262;  policy  of  Emperor 
Nicholas  toward,  264,  265; 
disposition  of  Alexander  II 
toward,  266,  267,  271,  272; 
revolutionary  spirit  active 
in,  268-71;  complete  inde- 
pendence of,  desired,  273; 
revolution  of  1863  in,  274- 
76;  conditions  in  Republic 
of  Cracow  since  18 15,  277; 
conditions  in  Posen  since 
1815,  278-80;  conditions  in 
Galicia  since  1815,  280-83. 

Prussian,  284-92;  con- 
stant expansion  of  Prussia 


into,  284,  285;  Prussian 
Government  opponent  of 
freedom  of,  285,  286;  Prus- 
sian policy  toward,  stiffened 
since  1 871, 286,  287;  increase 
of  nationalism,  287;  pro- 
ceedings of  Colonization 
Commission  in,  288,  289; 
successful  opposition  to  Ger- 
manization  in,  289, 290 ;  aims 
of  Prussia  in  her  struggle 
with,  291,  292. 

Russian,   292-307;   agra- 
rian reforms  of  Russia  in, 

292,  293;  system  of  local 
administration  of  Russia  in, 

293,  294;  Russification  of, 
294-97;  recent  progress  of, 
298;  native  middle  class 
formed  in,  299;  industrial 
classes  in,  not  in  favor  of  in- 
dependent state,  299;  mod- 
ern Poles  believe  in  autono- 
mous state  within  Russian 
Empire,  300,  301,  305,  306; 
work  of  the  National  League 
in,  302,  303;  the  National 
Democratic  Polish  Party, 
303;  the  first  line  of  defense 
against  Germanism,  304. 

Austrian,  307-16;  and  the 
Dual  Monarchy,  310;  East 
and  West  Galicia,  311. 
Poles,  ancestors  of,  i ;  part  of 
Western  Slavic  group,  2; 
signification  of  name,  4; 
claim  to  be  purest  of  Slavs, 
4;  united  into  single  state 
in  tenth  century  to  oppose 
Germans,  6;  join  Napoleon's 
forces,  239,  240;  in  battles 
of  1799,  241;  at  St.  Domin- 
go, 241;  feeling  of,  toward 
Napoleon,  244,  245;  join  the 
Grande  Armee  on  march 
into  Russia,  246;  favorable 
disposition  of  Alexander  I 
toward,  247-56;  spirit  of, 
from    Revolution   of    1830, 


352 


INDEX 


265,  266;  and  the  Ukranian 
attitude  of  Germany  and 
Austria,  307,  315,  316;  in 
East  Galicia,  312;  rap- 
prochement between  Russia 
and,  317-20;  in  the  Duma, 
317-20;  Russian  proclama- 
tion concerning,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Great  War, 
321,  322;  their  reception  of 
the  Russian  proclamation, 
322-24;  support  given  Aus- 
tria by,  324-26;  in  Galicia, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  War, 
326,  327;  their  treatment  in 
the  War,  328, 329 ;  prospects 
for,  after  the  War,  329-32. 

Polish  Church  and  Boles- 
laus  I,  9. 

Polish  Expropriation  or  Dis- 
possession Act,  289. 

Polish  League,  the,  302. 

Polish  Prussia,  61. 

Polish  question,  the,  ix. 

Politics,  game  of,  in  Poland, 

^  173.  174. 

Polock,  107. 

Polotsk,  97,  143. 

Polovstui,  the,  22. 

Poltava,  battle  of  (1709),  157. 

Pomerania,  reunited  to  Po- 
land, 17;  becomes  inde- 
pendent duchy,  33;  Dukes 
of,  34;  in  possession  of  Teu- 
tonic Knights,  39,  46;  Fred- 
erick William  aims  to  con- 
quer, 145. 

Pomerelia,  60,  61. 

Pomerellen,  37. 

Poniatowski,  Prince  Joseph, 
225-27,  246. 

Poniatowski,  Count  Stanis- 
laus, 190. 

Poniatowski,  Stanislaus  Au- 
gustus, King  of  Poland. 
See  Stanslaus  (Augustus 
PoniatoWvski). 

Posen,  province,  251;  Grand 
Duchy  of,  278. 


Potemkin,  221. 

Potocki,  Felix,  222. 

Potocki,  Ignacy,  226,  236. 

Potocki,  Theodore,  162. 

Pradt,  M.  de,  245. 

Praga,  235. 

Pretficz,  Bernard,  84. 

Princes,  Polish,  30-32. 

Privilege  of  Kaschau  (1374), 
62. 

Prussia,  Duchy  of,  80;  coast 
towns  in  Swedish  hands,  137; 
Poland  recovers  parts  con- 
quered by  Gustavus  Adol- 
phus,  139;  her  designs  on 
Poland,  166;  becomes  a 
great  power,  187;  alliance 
with  Russia,  188,  189;  and 
the  first  partition  of  Poland, 
202;  and  the  proposed  Pol- 
ish-Russian alliance,  210, 
211;  alliance  with  Poland, 
211-13;  covets  Polish  terri- 
tory, 213;  nature  of  the  al- 
liance, 214;  as  regards  the 
wisdom  of  the  alliance  on 
Poland's  part,  214-16;  in 
Pitt's  Triple  Alliance,  216; 
England  promotes  com- 
mercial treaty  between  Po- 
land and,  217;  resolves  to 
leave  the  Triple  Alliance, 
218;  aims  at  second  parti- 
tion of  Poland,  218;  refuses 
to  carry  out  treaty  with  Po- 
land, 224,  225;  and  Russia, 
agree  on  second  partition, 
227;  acceptance  of  treaty 
with,  forced  on  Poland,  229; 
her  acquisitions  at  the  third 
partition,  236,  237;  becomes 
rivalof  Austria,  281 ;  "peace- 
ful penetration"  and  Drang 
nach  dsten  settled  policies 
of,  284,  285;  Kingdom  of, 
how  formed,  284;  steady 
and  consistent  opponent  of 
Polish  freedom,  286;  Polish 
policy  stiffened  since  1871, 


INDEX 


353 


286,  287;  the  Colonization 
Commission,  288,  289;  lack 
of  success  in  Germanizing 
Poland,  289,  290;  aims  of, 
in  her  struggle  with  Poland, 
291,  292.  See  East  Prussia, 
West  Prussia. 

Prussian  League,  60. 

Prussian  Poland,  284-92. 

Prussians,  invade  Poland,  14, 
17;  invade  Masovia,  35. 

Radom,   Diet  of   (1505),   72; 

Confederation    of     (1767), 

197. 
Radzijovski,  143. 
Radziwill,  Barbara,  85,  86. 
Radziwill,  Janus,  143. 
Radziwill,  Prince  Jerome,  326. 
Radziwill,     Nicholas     (called 

"the  Black"),  86,  91,  124. 
Radziwill  Bible,  the,  91. 
Rapnin,  Prince,  195-97. 
Raslawice,  battle  of,  233. 
Recruiting,  methods  of,  274. 
Red  Russia,  202,  237. 
"Reds"  andj  "Whites,"  258, 

268,  276. 
Reformation,  the,  76,  89,  95. 
Reformers  in  Poland,  90,  91, 

93- 

Republic  of  Cracow,  251,  277. 

Retainers  of  the  Polish  mag- 
nates, 172,  174,  175. 

Revolution  of  1794,  231-36. 

Revolution  of  1830,  252,  257- 

^59. 

Revolution  of  1863,  274-76. 

Revolution  of  1904  in  Russia, 

295. 

Revolutionary  National  Gov- 
ernment, 282. 

Rhine,  rivalry  of  France  and 
Austria  for,  160. 

Rixa,  Queen,  13,  14. 

Rokosz  (Insurrection),  123, 
125. 

Roman  Prince  of  Halicz,  65  n. 

Romans,  the,  i. 


Roumania,  201. 

Rurik,  chief  of  the  Varan- 
gians, 3. 

Russia,  expansion  of,  to  the 
south,  2;  steppe  north  of 
Black  Sea,  3 ;  first  state  built 
up  by  the  Varangians,  3; 
result  of  theory  of  seniority 
as  basis  of  succession  in,  22; 
West,  provinces  of,  invaded 
by  Lithuanians,  44;  reli- 
gion, learning,  art,  etc.,  of, 
derived  from  Constanti- 
nople, 54;  under  Ivan  IV, 
106;  under  Theodore,  Boris, 
Dmitri,  and  Shuiski,  132, 
133;  "The  Thief  of  Tush- 
ino,"  133,  134;  election  of 
Michael  Romanoff,  135; 
and  the  Cossacks,  142;  at 
Peace  of  Andrusovo,  147; 
combines  with  other  pow- 
ers against  Sweden,  156; 
under  Michael,  Alexis, 
and  Peter  the  Great,  158; 
"Emperor  of  all,"  159;  in- 
fluence of,  established  in 
Poland,  159;  plans  of  Peter 
the  Great  toward  Poland, 
1 59 ;  alliance  of,  with  France, 
161;  rivalry  with  Austria 
for  the  Danube,  160;  opposes 
King  Stanislaus,  162;  her 
designs  on  Poland,  166;  of 
predominant  influence  in 
Poland,  187;  alliance  with 
Prussia,  188,  189;  at  war 
with  the  Turks,  199-201; 
and  the  first  partition  of  Po- 
land, 202;  governs  Poland, 
203,  204;  and  proposed  Pol- 
ish alliance,  209-11;  with- 
draws from  Poland,  212; 
alarm  at  successes  of, 
215;  Pitt's  alliance  directed 
against,  216;  makes  treaty 
of  peace  with  Turks,  218; 
intrigues  for  reconquest  of 
Poland,    221-24;    King    of 


354 


INDEX 


Poland  acquiesces  in  terms 
of,  226;  and  Prussia,  agree 
on  second  partition,  227; 
forces  Prussian  treaty  on 
Poland,  229;  Poland  vir- 
tually province  of,  230;  puts 
down  revolution  of  1794, 
232-36;  her  acquisitions  at 
the  third  partition,  236-38; 
again  takes  Poland  after  de- 
feat of  Grande  Armee,  246; 
Poland  declared  integral 
part  of  Empire,  259,  260; 
policy  of,  toward  Poland, 
262;  two  general  types  of 
emperors  of,  262,  263;  Pan- 
Slavic  idea  in,  263 ;  her  agra- 
rian reforms  in  Poland,  292, 
293 ;  her  system  of  local  ad- 
ministration in  Poland,  293, 
294;  her  ruthless  policy  in 
Poland,  294-97;  the  Duma, 
307;  attitude  of,  toward  the 
Ukranians,  313;  rapproche- 
ment between  Poles  and, 
317-20;  Polish  proclama- 
tion of,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Great  War,  321,  322; 
her  attitude  toward  the 
Poles  since  the  beginning 
of  the  War,  xvii,  328.  See 
Muscovy. 

Russian  Poland,  292-307. 

Russians,  settle  in  valleys  of 
the  Dnieper  and  its  tribu- 
taries, 2 ;  trade  with  Scandi- 
navia and  Constantinople, 
3;  invade  Poland  under 
Queen  Rixa,  14. 

Ruthenians,  311,  314. 

Rzewuski,  Seweryn,  222. 

St.  Adalbert,  Bishop  of  Prague, 

6,  9.    . 
St.  Domingo,  241.    ^ 
St.  Petersburg,  191. 
Salt  mines,  205. 
Samogitia,  37,  52,  55,  91,  209, 

230,  237. 


Sandomir,  22,  23,  237. 
Sardinia,  King  of,  239. 
Saxony,  250,  251. 
Scandinavians,  the,  3. 
Schools,  foundation  of,  28. 
Secret  National  Government, 

325-27.-  . 

Sects,  religious,  in  Poland,  90, 
91. 

Sejmiki,  62,  63. 

Semigallia,  96. 

Senate.   See  Diet. 

Seniority  as  basis  of  succes- 
sion according  to  Slav  cus- 
tom, 20-22. 

Serfdom,  of  Polish  peasants, 
i76;abolished,22i  ;restored, 
231;  abolished  in  theory  in 
Duchy  of  Warsaw,  243, 
271;  abolished  in  Russia, 
271 ;  abolished  in  Posen,  277 ; 
abolished  in  Austria,  281; 
partly  responsible  for  ruin 
of  Poland,  302. 

Setch,  the,  129. 

Seven  Years'  War,  166,  187. 

Shuiski,  Vassily,  133-35. 

Sicinski,  147. 

Sievers,  Baron  von,  227,  229, 
231. 

Sigismund  I,  King  of  Poland, 
(1506-1548),  72;  Gover- 
nor of  Silesia,  72;  and  the 
szlachta,  73,  74;  financial 
improvements  of,  74,  75; 
a  champion  of  the  towns, 
75;  religious  tolerance  of, 
77;  a  lover  of  peace,  77; 
hostilities  of,  with  Muscovy, 
77-79;  recognizes  Duchy  of 
Prussia,  80;  his  attitude 
toward  the  House  of  Habs- 
burg  and  Bohemia  and  Hun- 
gary, 81-84;  a  stanch  sup- 
porter of  the  rights  of  the 
Church,  87. 

Sigismund  (H)  Augustus, 
King  of  Poland  (1548- 
1572),     Poland   and    Lith- 


INDEX 


355 


uania  became  single  state 
under,  xii;  accession,  85; 
character,  85,  86;  his  mar- 
riage and  the  Diet,  86,  87; 
and  the  Nuncios,  87,  88; 
and  the  clergy,  90;  favorable 
to  the  reformers,  93;  a  man 
of  peace,  93;  his  reasons  for 
allowing  Protestant  Church 
to  be  built  in  Cracow,  93; 
effects  real  union  of  Poland 
and  Lithuania,  94;  death, 
98;  forbade  further  settle- 
ment of  Jews  in  Poland,  183. 

Sigismund  (III)  Vasa,  Rus- 
sian adventure  of,  xiv;  elect- 
ed King  of  Poland,  1 13-15; 
character  and  internal  pol- 
icy of,  1 1 5-1 7;  foreign  pol- 
icy of,  117;  Austrian  in- 
trigues and  civil  war  of,  118- 
25;  part  taken  by,  in  Rus- 
sian domestic  affairs,  134, 
135;  death,  137. 

Silesia,  annexed  to  Poland, 
8;  reunited  to  Poland,  17; 
given  to  Wladislaus,  24; 
becomes  known  as  German 
Province,  24;  recent  revival 
of  Polish  nationalism  in,  24; 
held  by  Bohemia,  39,  46; 
Sigismund  made  Governor 
of,  72;  New,  237. 

Skarga,  foretells  the  fall  of 
Poland,  185. 

Slavophils,  263,  264. 

Slavs,  in  second  century,  i; 
flee  before  Avars  in  seventh 
century,  2;  Western  and 
Eastern,  2,  3,  5ee  Poles,  Rus- 
sians; of  north  and  south 
separated,  2;  Germany  the 
abiding  danger  to  inde- 
pendence of,  8;  institution 
of  the  district  among,  12; 
Drang  nach  Osten  at  the  ex- 
pense of,  285;  expelled  from 
Prussian  Poland,  288;  influ- 
ence of  the  German  Empire 


a  danger  for,  304.  See  Pan- 
Slavism. 

Smolensk,  80,  136,  138,  143, 
147. 

Sobieski,  John,  King  of  Poland, 
fights  the  Cossacks  and  the 
Turks,  xiv,  151,  152;  elected 
king  152.   See  John  III. 

Society  of  Jesus  in  Poland,  92. 

Socinians,  91. 

South  Prussia,  227. 

Spanish  Succession,  War  of 
the,  156. 

Stanislaus,  Bishop  of  Cracow, 
16. 

Stanislaus  (Augustus  Ponia- 
towski) ,  put  forward  by  Rus- 
sia and  Prussia  as  King  of 
Poland,  189;  education  and 
character,  190;  at  the  Court 
of  St.  Petersburg,  191;  lover 
of  Catharine,  191;  Polish 
Ambassador  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, 191;  in  Russian  con- 
spiracy, 191,  192;  elected 
King,  194;  position  of,  as 
King,  194,  195;  weakness 
of,  196;  twice  yields  to  the 
Empress,  196, 197;  convokes 
Diet  that  agrees  to  first  par- 
tition of  Poland,  203;  works 
for  reforms,  208;  supports 
dependence  on  Russia,  208; 
approves  alliance  with  Rus- 
sia, 210;  supports  the  new 
Constitution,22o;  appointed 
Commander-in-Chief,  224; 
advises  acceptance  of  Cath- 
arine's terms,  226;  his  ex- 
cuse for  acceding  to  Con- 
federation of  Targowica, 
228;  in  the  insurrection  of 
1794.  233,  234;  goes  to 
Grodno,  and  then  to  St. 
Petersburg,  236;  abdicates, 

237. 
Stanislaus  Leszczynski,  King 
of  Poland,  156,  157, 161, 162, 
176. 


356 


INDEX 


Statutes  of  Nieszawa  (1454), 
62. 

Stephen  (i 575-1 586),  words 
of,  quoted,  xiv;  elected  King 
of  Poland,  103;  qualifica- 
tions of,  104,  105;  defeats 
Muscovites,  106,  107;  his 
army,  107,  108;  triumphal 
return  of,  108;  his  great 
European  scheme,  108,  109; 
death,  109;  and  the  Zborow- 
ski  family,  109,  no;  a  great 
ruler,  iii;  tolerant  in  re- 
ligious matters,  in;  brought 
the  Cossacks  into  the  army, 
128. 

Stephen,  Archduke  Charles, 
326. 

Steppe,  the,  81,  82,  84. 

Stolypin,  Prime  Minister,  318, 

Strong  places,  13. 
Stuhmsdorf,  Truce  of  (1635), 

Succession,  seniority  as  basis 
of,  according  to  Slav  cus- 
tom, 20-22. 

Suleiman  II,  81. 

Suvaroff ,  Russian  general,  235. 

Sventopolk,  34,  35. 

Sviatopolk,  son-in-law  of 
Boleslaus  I,  8. 

Sweden,  in  1559  (Treaties  of 
Wilna),  96;  and  the  throne 
of  Poland  (1587),  114,  115; 
defeated  at  Kirkholm,  126; 
and  Shuiski,  134;  invades 
Livonia  under  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  136;  returns  Li- 
vonia to  Poland,  139;  in- 
vades Poland  under  Charles 
X,  143;  in  the  Thirteen 
Years'  War,  146,  147;  in 
the  Great  Northern  War, 
156,  157. 

Szlachta  (lajided  nobility), 
and  kmeten,  11;  served  on 
horseback,  1 1 ;  depression  of, 
32;   had   voice  in  govern- 


ment, but  not  eligible  to 
Senate,  40,  41 ;  and  the  Stat- 
utes of  Nieszawa,  62 ;  and  the 
Dietines,  63;  John  Albert 
and,  66-69;  since  Diet  of 
Chenciny  had  theoretical 
right  to  sit  with  Senate,  67; 
become  a  class  apart,  hold- 
ing the  other  classes  in  sub- 
jection, 67, 68;  force  Articles 
of  Mielnica  on  King  Alexan- 
der, 71;  victory  of,  over 
Sigismund  I,  73,  74;  try  to 
exclude  deputies  of  towns 
from  Diet,  75;  army  ineffi- 
cient owing  to  control  of,  79; 
try  to  bring  clergy  under 
their  control,  87,  89,  90; 
King  to  be  elected  by,  99; 
peaceful  sentiment  of,  104, 
105,  108;  lack  of  responsibil- 
ity of,  109;  support  Zamoy- 
ski,  118,  119;  struggle  be- 
tween King  Stephen  and, 
120,  121;  their  dangerous 
policy  toward  the  Cossacks, 
130;  Wladislaus  IV  plans 
blow  at,  139;  secure  election 
of  Michael,  150;  would  not 
pay  foreign  ambassadors, 
163;  blind  to  the  interests 
of  the  country,  168,  169; 
really  very  weak,  170;  a  sec- 
tion of,  not  well-to-do,  174; 
rank  of,  always  recognized, 
175;  legislate  against  the 
towns,  178;  opposed  to  the 
Jews,  183,  184;  privileges  of, 
reenacted  after  second  par- 
tition, 231;  of  the  "Red" 
party,  258;  much  land  in 
hands  of,  in  1914,  298.  See 
Nobles. 

Tannenberg,  battle  of  (1410), 

xii,  55. 
Targowica,  Confederation  of 

(1792),  223,  225,  228. 
Tarnapol,  province  of,  251.    , 


INDEX 


357 


Tarnowski,  John,  8i,  82,  86. 

Tartars,  under  Batu,  30;  com- 
bine with  Turks,  65,  70; 
Crimean,  subjugation  of, 
by  Turks,  81;  and  the 
Ukraine,  82,  84;  in  time  of 
Stephen,  104-06;  warfare 
with,  under  Sigismund  Vasa, 
126,  127,  131. 

Teutonic  Knights,  struggle 
of  Poland  with,  x,  xii;  settle 
in  Masovia,  33,  36;  origin 
of,  36;  conquests  of,  37;  be- 
come serious  menace  to 
Polish  independence,  37; 
defeated  by  King  Wladis- 
laus,  42;  in  possession  of 
Pomerania,  46;  treaty  with 
Casimir  III,  46;  intrigues 
of,  to  prevent  union  of  Po- 
land and  Lithuania,  51,  52; 
defeated  at  Griinewald,  or 
Tannenberg,  55 ;  at  Peace  of 
Thorn  (141 1),  55;  war  of, 
with  the  Prussian  League 
and  Casimir  IV,  60,  61; 
rule  over  East  Prussia,  61; 
under  Albert  of  Hohen- 
zollern,  70,  71;  hostility  to 
Poland  under  Sigismund  I, 
79;  secularization  of  prop- 
erty of,  80. 

Theodore,  Czar  of  Russia, 
132. 

"Thief  of  Tushino,  The,"  133. 

134. 

Thirteen  Years'  War,  the, 
146,  147. 

Thirty  Years'  War,  136,  138, 
160. 

Thorn,  Peace  of  (141 1),  55; 
Peace  of  (1466),  61,  95; 
coveted  by  Prussia,  213, 
217,  218,  222;  obtained  by 
Prussia  by  second  partition, 
227. 

Towns  of  Poland,  deputies 
from,  at  first  sat  with  Nun- 
cios in  the  Diet,  67,  75;  the 


Jagiellos  the  friends  of,  75; 
from  the  fifteenth  to  the 
eighteenth  century,  178, 
179;  increased  in  importance 
after  first  partition,  206. 

Transylvania,  Prince  of,  123, 
125,  143,  154. 

Trebbia,  battle  of  (i799),  241. 

Triple  Alliance,  formed  by 
Pitt,  216-18. 

Turks,  defeated  by  Wladislaus 
III,  59;  capture  Constanti- 
nople, 64;  defeat  John  Al- 
bert, 70;  ravage  Poland,  70; 
hostility  of,  to  Poland  under 
Sigismund  I,  79-81;  subdue 
Crimean  Tartars  and  Mol- 
davia, 81;  advance  to  walls 
of  Vienna,  81;  in  time  of 
Stephen,  105;  Stephen 
makes  temporary  peace 
with,  106;  warfare  with, 
under  Sigismund  Vasa,  126, 
127,  131,  132;  war  with, 
under  Michael,  151;  Vienna 
freed  from,  153-55;  at  war 
with  Russia,  199-201;  make 
treaty  of  peace  with  Rus- 
sia, 218. 

"Tushino,  The  Thief  of,"  133, 
134. 

Ukraine,  the,  meaning  of,  82, 
127;  subject  to  Tartar  raids, 
82,  84,  127,  147;  location  of, 
82,  127;  joins  with  Russia, 
131;  vast  estates  of  nobles 
in,  140;  the  serfs  of,  142; 
Turks  secure  a  part  of,  151, 
152;  falls  to  Russia  by 
second  partition,  227. 

Ukranian  question,  the,  307, 
311-16,  321. 

Unanimity  voting,  122,  123. 

Uniate  Church,  the,  57,  66, 
121,  297,  312,  314,  321. 

Union  of  Florence  (i434).  57. 
121. 

Union  of  Horodlo  (1414),  56. 


358 


INDEX 


Union  of  Lublin  (1569),  94. 
Unitarians,  91. 

Varangians,  built  up  first  Rus- 
sian state,  3. 

Varna,  59. 

Vasa,  John,  Duke  of  Finland, 
96,  97. 

Vasa,  Sigismund,  113.  See 
Sigismund  Vasa. 

Vasily  III,  Czar,  79. 

Venice,  140,  154. 

Veto  power  in  Polish  Diet, 
xiii,  147,  189,  192,  196, 
211,  221,  230. 

Vienna,  81;  rescued  from  the 
Turks,  153-55;  Treaty  of 
(1809),  242;  Congress  of 
(1814),  250-53. 

Vikings  on  Baltic  coast,  4. 

Vistula,  the,  284,  285. 

Vladimir  the  Great,  8. 

Volhynia,  55,  227,  237. 

Waclaw,  38,  39. 

Waldensians,  91. 

Wallachia,  126,  201. 

Warsaw,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  42;  made  capital 
of  united  Lithuanian-Pol- 
ish state,  95;  in  the  eight- 
eenth century,  179;  in- 
crease of  size  of,  after  first 
partition,  206;  uprising  in, 
after  second  partition,  233; 
entered  by  Russians,  235; 
falls  to  Prussia  at  third  par- 
tition, 237;  Duchy  of,  242- 
46,  251;  University  of, 
closed,  264. 

Wartha,  the,  4. 

Wehlau,  Treaty  of  (1657), 
145.  146. 

West  Galicia,  311. 

West  Prussia,  136,  145,  202. 

Westphalia,  Treaties  of,  160. 

White  Russia,  202,  227. 

''Whites"  and  "Reds,"  258, 
268,  276. 


ang 


Wieliczka,  salt  mines  of ,  145. 

Wielpolski,  Marquis,  273,  275, 
300. 

William  of  Habsburg,  57.        ^ 

Williams,  Sir  Charles  Han- 
bury,  191. 

Wilna,  Compact  of  (1401),  55; 
Treaties  of  (1559),  96;  taken 
by  the  Muscovites,  143; 
expels  Russian  garrison, 
233 ;  University  of,  248 ;  Uni- 
versity of,  closed,  264. 

Wisniowiecki,  Adam,  133. 

Wisniowiecki,  Jeremiah,  150. 

Wisniowiecki,  Michael,  Ki] 
of  Poland,  150-52. 

Witowt  of  Lithuania,  51,  52, 
55,  56. 

Wladislaus  (called  Lokietek 
or  "Long-Span"),  King  of 
Poland  (1319-1333),  22; 
becomes  king,  38,  39;  re- 
unites Poland  into  single 
sovereignty,  39;  internal 
regeneration  of  Poland  un- 
der, 39,  40;  calls  first  Polish 
Diet,  40;  defeats  Teutonic 
Knights,  42;  death,  45,  46. 

Wladislaus  II,  King  of  Poland. 
See  Jagiello. 

Wladislaus  III,  King  of  Po- 
land (1434-1444),  59. 

Wladislaus  IV,  King  of  Po- 
land (1632-1648),  attempt 
to  seat  him  on  the  Musco- 
vite throne,  135,  137;  war 
of,  with  Muscovy,  138; 
makes  peace  with  Turks, 
138;  attempts^  to  destroy 
power  of  the  Diet,  139,  140; 
death,  140. 

Wladislaus,  son  of  Boleslaus 
III,  King  of  Poland,  18,  22- 
24;  line  of,  24,  25. 

Wladislaus,  son  of  Casimir  III 
and  King  of  Bohemia,  64; 
elected  King  of  Hungary, 
65;  daughter  of,  married  to 
Ferdinand  of  Habsburg,  82. 


INDEX 


359 


Wladislaus  Herman,  ruler  of 
Poland,  17. 

Zakrezewsky,  236. 
Zamoyski,     Count     Andrew, 

270. 
Zamoyski,  John,  99,  1 10-15, 

118-22,  126. 
Zapolsk,  Truce  of  (1582),  108. 


Zapolya,  John,  83. 
Zaporoghian  Cossacks,  129. 
Zborowski,  Christopher,   no. 
Zborowski,  Samuel,  109,  no. 
Zborowskis,  the,  100,  109-14. 
Zealots,  the,  228,  229. 
Zebrzydowski,  122,  123. 
Zolkiewski,  126,  131,  135. 


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